Most of the material featured in this issue was ready in time for our
planned release, in the last quarter of 2015. However, due to unfortunate
technical difficulties with our web server, the site performed poorly in the
last months of 2015, and, furthermore, I was unable to upload new material to
our website. I had to take a step back and try to solve the issues (I am
extremely disappointed with our hosting service, which apparently caused all of
these but took no responsibility).

I would like to apologize for all the artists and labels/promoters for having
to wait so long for our coverage, and to our loyal readers for not being there.
Hopefully, everything is now as good as it was, and I wish you a smooth and pleasant
reading.

Good sound and good musicianship, but the rest is forgettable. Sadly, Caelestia seems to have all the ingredients needed to
create a powerful, melodic Death metal album, but, song after song, one just
keeps wondering what is the point!

For every part that starts bringing excitement and expectation, there is
another one making the listener go "meh...".
Good riff, bad riff. Bombastic part, nonsense part.
The combination of (mostly) female vocals and (few) male growls could have
worked, but the female vocal lines are simply not good enough. Not too good.
And the growls?: if there was a point to be made about
them, it evaded so quickly in accordance with their impact.

To make matters worse, there is no feeling of coherence. You could simply
pull random parts out of the songs and assemble them as new songs, and that
would hardly cause a difference. And we haven't even started discussing the
lyrics... (4/10)

We don't know if "comfortable" was what this Finnish band was
looking for, but that's what their debut album is. It's not bombastic,
aggressive, progressive, highly memorable or terribly original, but it is
comfortable. Messera starts as if it's already
been going on for a while, and then simply goes on.

Space-themed, thrashy, industrialized, blackened,
half-Gothic half-melodic-Death, Star Insight found a style they enjoy and
simply went along with it. While the guitars and drums are simple, the
keyboards are fairly inventive, and the songs (mostly mid-tempo, with an
occasional melodic line instead of growls) are well written.

It's nothing that you haven't heard before. Still, even if you are a
seasoned metalhead, you will probably want to hear Messera again. It has that special
"something." A bit of passion, a bit of
carelessness, and very little pretentiousness. It's honest. It's
nostalgic. It's what it is.

In fact, in Messera Star Insight delivers
moments that reminded us of those cult bands few have heard of and, in
retrospect, we can't quite understand why they never made it big: moments that
make you pay attention, moments in which you wonder with amazement, and moments
where you smile. And sometimes, something to make you smile is all you need.
Don't wait for it to be vintage - crop it now. (7/10)

To this writer, this Finnish crew saved the night. After casual YouTubing to check what's going on in his native Croatia,
and realizing everyone "popular" is still trying to sound like a
simplified version of something between Pantera and
melodic death metal, just like 10 years ago (Ed note: Mladen,
you should actually appreciate that; other countries' charts are much pure Pop
oriented), I played Torchia, and bingo! This is how
it is supposed to be done. Even better, there's no Pantera
in it.

This is classy, melodic death metal. No stone left unturned, no riff
neglected, no excuses made. Just a three-track demo, but, you can listen to it
with headphones, several times in a row, and still enjoy it. There's just so
much detail in it; even the simple, thrashing parts are finessed. There's
adrenalin but it is never cheesy, and the solos are like real solos should be -
memorable.

Originality? Torchia can
be put in line with At The Gates or Dark Tranquility
in their early days. Furthermore, whereas the two referred bands just threw
anything in their songs to make it "progressive" Torchia
only threw the good stuff in, and in a wilder manner. Of course, it's still
some redundant stuff thrown in, but it is hardly noticeable in the context of
this three song recording. Here's hoping Torchia can
make a full album out of this - all it takes is some more refinement of the
compositions. But please keep the craziness! (7.5/10)

This is what happens when you put together a guy who spent years trying to
become the fastest guitarist in the world, his dreamy poetic brother, a guy who
collects and sonically abuses keyboards, and a few more forest-dwelling Finns.

No, you're not getting another Stratovarius.
You're getting something darker, more serious, and more intriguing. The
guitarist actually developed a few other skills apart from just being fast. The
keyboard collector found a lot of tasteful sounds. The dreamer can actually
sing too. And Longing for the Incomplete became a steamroller of an
album. With a rhythm section to match, don't worry.

There's much to hear and experience on this debut. Most of it is not happy,
but it doesn't need to be. It's intelligent, well composed, sometimes
depressing, sometimes energetic and at times even mocking or arrogant. One
thing's for sure: it's never dull. Think of it as progressive, heavy metal with
a bit of pop infused. Kouzin Bedlam has made an
accomplished album for any kind of music. No obvious hits or misses, other than
the lack of an emotional dimension, which is why we recommend trying before
buying. (8/10)

Elegant, intelligent, captivating and intimate.
Listening to this Finnish progressive band's second album is easy. Really easy, if you don't think too hard about it. It simply
flows, from quiet to loud, from thought to hope, from experience to safety.

Or, maybe not. Take a closer look. Pay more
attention, and you will notice that nothing is as simple as it seems. There's
literally nothing simple here - not a straightforward rhythm or a melody on
this CD. When you put your mind to it and try to analyze them, things get
complicated: the guitar melodies are in strange rhythms; the drums play strange
melodies; the singer's voice is powerful and the vocal melodies are excellent,
but there's some kind of weird mathematics to the performance.

And yet, the things are so well composed that you will have to pay attention
to notice the aforementioned traits. It's up to you to choose upon listening:
do I simply enjoy or do I try to figure out what is going on and learn Minutian's methods. You can of course combine the two and
get your reward from multiple listening sessions. (8.5/10)

Ahem. Love songs, and a band that is probably better understood and more
enjoyed by women. But let's try. From this writer's perspective, Until We
Shine Again is melancholic, full of allusions, impressions, evocations and
compliments. It is modern, urban, well made and occasionally progressive. It
doesn't make you feel good, and it probably wasn't the point either.

The long songs featured here range from mellow, clean parts to thrashing
outbursts (relatively, that is; we're not talking Kreator-styled
outbursts here) and are served with some radio-friendliness and late-night, pensive, wondering feeling that characterizes dark
metal in its lightest embodiment. The vocals are clean,
neither strong nor weak, and even though there is not much personality to them,
they make up for it in elaboration. A few of them are quite catchy, but they're
hardly original.

The same can be said for the rest of this Finnish band: it's all nice yet
somehow safe. Too safe to make an impression. Sumia can get loud and heavy, but we feel that it does not
help the band in manifesting its pop narrative. (6.5/10)

Instrumentally, this is quite an amazing album. Although not terribly
original, this French man's third CD (not counting the demos) is extremely
elaborated, atmospheric, and even playful in a good way (depression doesn't
necessarily need to be lifeless). Artists will understand this.

Ars Moriendi almost made
a classic black metal album. Almost, were it not for a
few things. First, the vocals - the gargled growls are just not interesting,
and even though the lyrics in the booklet (very nice otherwise, with plenty of
old-times Black Metal mysticism) seem short, the guy is everywhere. Where there
could have been a great, powerful crescendo, a gust of emotions, we get more
growls. It's not always the case, but it's enough to make the listener wonder
whether the next great moment will come accompanied by an "arrggghhh" or will it be allowed to breathe and fly on
its own. Almost any other black metal vocal style would have been better than
this. The other objection would be the occasional guitar solos doing the same
thing as the vocals - spreading all over, and ruining the magic. Sometimes more
is less. (7/10)

With all the Christian references W.A.S.P. have been doing lately, maybe
they are "White Anglo Saxon Protestant" after all? Rock
style life, touring, groupies and all that - W.A.S.P are getting old and trying
to repent for something done in the past? After all, "god"
loves the prodigal son more than the one who never
sinned, right? What a comforting thought. Russian Mafia members wearing crosses
and giving donations to their church seem to think the same way too.

Apart from this, quite a good album. W.A.S.P. doing
what W.A.S.P. do, and not giving a damn (oops, sorry...). The tone is set right
from the beginning, with galloping drum rhythms, glowing, ecstatic guitar
sound, professional solo guitar fillers, and "the" voice: Blackie
Lawless sounds as emotional and poignant as ever, singing every word as he
means it, and he sure knows how to write a catchy vocal line.

There is a slight storytelling fee to Golgotha, and after listening
to it in its entirety - as laid back and standard as it seems - it just feels
complete: you want a rock sing-along stadium anthem, Golgotha has them;
you want a power ballad - "Miss You" will get stuck in your head
almost as well as "Forever Free" did many years ago; You want
surprises - you will get a few, and they're cleverly placed so that you will
definitely notice and remember them. That's style! As safe as Golgotha is, it
is an album well done. Relax, Blackie, you're not going to hell. No one is.
(8/10)

Wanna be impressed by something from Moldova?
Nationality, in metal, can mean all or it can mean nothing. The fact that this
band is from a less-well known country and that it will probably stay in the
underground for that same reason, are a nice bonus. You can get a CD by a band
nobody has heard about and have your own little treasure. Or just impress
everyone else by playing it to them.

Part of Humanity is explosive. Powerful, bombastic,
massive. It is swirling, playful (in a sadistic way) and gloomy - all at
the same time. Think about Septicflesh combined with Dimmu Borgir's Spiritual Black
Dimensions keyboards, Crematory atmosphere and a bit of industrial. The
ideas aren't something you haven't heard before, but The Ward delivers them
with such confidence that you will keep wondering who this band is, why and how
they are doing this, and how come you haven't heard of them before. Well, you
have, right now. If you need to hear some crushing guitars, merciless machinery
blast beats, properly majestic keyboards, actually enjoyable growls and an
overwhelming atmosphere of Armageddon, look no further. (8/10)

To hell with growing up and giving up on being a nerd.
It just got more extreme than ever. Maybe even too extreme for the casual
bystander, but, someone had to do this. Better them than us, and all that. All
we can do is sit back, enjoy, stand up, headbang,
laugh, nod, hum along, sit, try to relax, get up, look for our swords, ride the
dragon, kill the princess and all that, and then do it all again. And generally
enjoy the power metal unicorn warhammer goblin galaxy
just the way it was before the 1992 apocalypse. "1992?,"
we hear you asking? Let's just say it's a time warp thing, too complicated to
explain, and leave it at that.

Seriously, this is deliriously great. A parody band, if you wish, with
ludicrous lyrics, video game character images to match, and enjoyable songs
that are more catchy and contagious than those you've heard by Rhapsody of
Fire, Edguy or Helloween in
the last few years. Cheesy, if you want to call it like that, but with all the powercheese, hammercheese, glorycheese and hootercheese
flying around. Nerd cheese is a cheese to be reckoned with! And it's even
better than the band's first album.

No, you don't have to be a devoted gamer, a dedicated troll, an academic
nerd or a horny teenager to enjoy Gloryhammer. Not
even a fan of fantasy. But, while listening to Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos
Wizards, the uncool part of you will have a glorious time. (8.6/10)

This is one of the monsters. The snare drum is used, and sounds, like a
weapon. The growls and the screams are properly bestial. The bass is clearly
audible. The guitar sound is as direct as if you were playing it yourself -
that is, if you could play like Vehemence. And even if you could, you probably
wouldn't be able to write songs like these. And even if you would, you probably
wouldn't be able to memorize them. And even... OK,
never mind -
hopefully you got the message: Vehemence are back.

No matter what you expect or how you approach Forward Without
Motion, the preconceptions are shattered after a song or two. Methodical
and merciless, the songwriting grabs your attention. It stops, it goes, it
blasts, but it doesn't feel like that. It's mostly in the same tempo, but it's
all over your senses. Be it a thrashy, hardcore
moment (we said moment! This is still clearly death metal!), or a glorious
melodic outburst, all of it is exceptional and serves a purpose - in other
words, real riffs. The kind that connects to you. Real
songs, that stand apart. Real vocals, that don't annoy
but destroy. And the drummer, with a style of his own,
is playing thesm instead of just hitting them, while
hitting them even harder nonetheless.

You will probably remember where and how you have heard "Murdered by
the Earth" for the first time. Or that piece of weirdness that is "In
the Shadows We Dwell". And there is more on this album, everywhere! For
those asking if Forward Without Motion is
better than God Was Created - most likely it is. It's scorching, it's
scattered, yet if you look from a distance there are real songs. But it's hard
to keep distance when this music is going after you. Forward
without motion indeed. (9/10)

First things first - De Profundis play elaborated,
technical, blackened, melodic death metal with hints of progression. On this,
their fourth album, there is a whole lot going on. Somehow, though, not a lot
of it is exciting.

Maybe things are just poorly matched: the vocals are sterile and lifeless,
more fitting on a doom metal album; the drums, when not doing blast beats, seem
not to know what to do; the songs consist of sections, but they don't feel like
song parts. This melody and that riff, one after another, although well played,
don't bring much to music itself. If you just want to hear a band that plays
well and fast, knows how to solo, and sometimes hints at jazz, Kingdom of
the Blind is not a bad album to pick up. But if you want to hear a band
that you could talk or think about, De Profundis are
just not that band. (6/10)

This Kamelot album is a product,
and one well-tailored for the target audience.

This product is mostly in mid-tempo, with so few deviations that after three
songs you will forget the first one. The standard Kamelot
sound, composition and vocal drama are here, together with riffs that are not
catchy nor leave much to talk about. Kamelot started
playing, Kamelot played, Kamelot stopped playing. That's about it.

For a band that, once, released Karma, Haven isn't much. Yes,
it's technical, symphonic, melodic and at times bombastic. It was hard to make,
we hear. Perspiration and effort are all well, but if there is no inspiration
behind them, you are left with something that only devout fans will appreciate.
Briefly - a few disjointed "progressive" riffs, a bridge, a
(sometimes) great chorus as a relief, back to standard Kamelot,
repeat, and the occasional ballad-break. Nobody will be terribly disappointed
in Haven, but not many will listen to it too many times either. Just the target audience. (6.5/10)

The tag name on Ashen Horde's style bears the title 'Black Metal', a title
that couldn't be more misleading, as Nine Plagues is nothing short of
being pure death metal; not black/death, not blackened death metal, not
black/thrash and not even death/thrash, neither is it 'melodic' or 'brutal' or
whatever death metal; and we do apologize for not including all the hybrids,
sub-hybrids and meta-hybrids of metal's most extreme sub-sub-sub styles here,
trying to describe what this album IS NOT. No, ladies and gentlemen, Nine
Plagues is simply death metal; it is as death metal as death metal comes.
In fact, this album has captured the perfect death metal atmosphere, the
perfect production and the perfect technique and until you realize this -
expecting in the process something entirely different (especially if you're
familiar with the band's previous work) - you're going to have some rough time
trying to crack this album's code and, god forbid, even enjoy it.

Trying to fit Nine Plagues into the wrong paradigm will cause the
listener to cringe; the dichotomy between the latter-day Immortal-like guitar
sound and the strange, unattractive tone of Trevor Portz's
vocals (that are somewhat misplaced in the context of the music) makes the
music hard to swallow (plus the fact the music is too complex and technical and
exhibiting too many death metal aesthetics to be even remotely regarded as
black metal). The stark aesthetic dispute shown here in all its glory is a gap
that is not easily mended, the styles not easily reconciled. It's like oil and
water, or in the musical context, like the highly sophisticated song
structures, writing and execution and the somewhat primordial (though slightly
processed) vocal performance.

Only when you realize this is actually a pretty intense, technical death
metal album, with vocals to match, are you going to immensely enjoy it, but
only then. We know - some eyebrows may be raised at this statement, but all you
have to do is really listen; listen to Portz's
singing style: is it not like a marriage in hell between Carcass's Jeff
Walker's and Cancer's John Walker's vocals? It most certainly is.

We get where the black metal reference is coming from; it's the guitar
sound: a grittier, slightly more down-tuned sound distinctive to the above
mentioned Immortal. And indeed, couple with that sound and playing style the
occasionally croaky vocals - and ta-dam! A death metal version of Immortal is
born. However, not every song echoes with the spirit of Immortal and besides,
Immortal were never THAT technical; more epic perhaps,
but way less technical. Funnily, however, the technical aspect of Nine
Plagues never overshadows the music and never diminishes the intensity of
the foreboding atmosphere.

When fully embracing the fact Nine Plagues is a full-blown death
metal album, and putting all aesthetic disputes to rest, something will occur:
you will begin to pay attention to details, and those are in abundance here.
This album is one of those rare albums that are actually interesting, in the
sense the music ignites within the listener the urge to discover what's next
every passing second, and in addition the listener doesn't really have a clue
about what's going to happen next.

Nine Plagues has got all those musical nooks and crannies, dark
microcosms that are being revealed constantly and while being exposed to the
light, they burn brightly only to be replaced by another surprise coming from a
different angle, another bright light bearing a different wavelength. Nine
Plagues is an incredibly complex work; the guitar work is ingenious and
intriguing; the rhythm section is ripping, menacing and razor-sharp; and the
drum work is phenomenal (it may be a drum machine, but you wouldn't know),
ranging from slower dirges to hyper-fast blasts to anything in between, showing
some unconventional and intricate rhythm patterns.

Nine Plagues is the renaissance of death metal; it bears the marks of
old and ancient as well as wears the ribbons of modernity and beyond; like a
collision of old and new, of traditional and experimental, of primitivism and
intelligent sophistication; as timeless as death itself. Yes, it is like oil
and water that never blend, but boy, what colors do they
emit when they are coupled and in the presence of light!

Fans of complex and innovative metal, who are not intimidated by music that
isn't catchy, or those who are hooked on Immortal's most death-metal-oriented
moments, as well as those who dig bands such as Death (who doesn't?!), Theory
In Practice or Australian StarGazer, will surely have
a ball listening to this mighty recording. Coming to think of it, the rest will
also enjoy it, since this is a complete, all-embracing death metal experience.

How do you even begin to review an album whose disadvantages equal its
brilliant moments? How do you even reconcile with an album that offers you moments
where you literally want to hug it, alongside moments you actually want to kick
this disc's thick skull? So what happens when the brilliant meet the numskull?
The average is then being spawn, and the average is
the mother of all bad things.

Tor Marrock should have only played
goth-rock/post-punk, in which they excel, instead of trying to mishmash the
aforementioned with a second-class heavy metal/hard rock that occupies half of
the record.

When the band turns its post-punk mode on, it sounds like an updated,
heavier version of Killing Joke, but way darker and more sinister. Tor Marrock then creates a crowded, bone-chilling atmosphere
that resonates with the listener up until the end of the track. Hints of Type O
Negative can also be picked, but overall, these goth/post-punk songs sound
rather unique in sound as well as in execution.

But then the band goes into its retarded phase, playing simplistic heavy
metal coupled with a lack of inspiration. Then and there the band sounds pale
and empty, like a dispirited Paradise Lost with very Nick-Holmes-like vocals,
having some unspectacular riffs and benign guitar leads and solos. Ah, but when
Tor Marock try to sound like Bal
Sagoth (epic and fast, that is), the outcome is even
more ridiculous and embarrassing.

This album isn't a bad one; it's just that the distance between its good
stuff and its moronic parts is so vast that this very dichotomy creates a
dissonance the listener will find hard to stomach, hence not able to fully
enjoy the album's best sections. Nevertheless, if you want to listen to
something quite unique and non-habitual, a hybrid between Killing Joke, Type O
Negative and latter-day Paradise Lost, you should give Destroy The Soul a chance. If you don't mind the sub-par heavy
metal fiasco and can look past that, you might find yourself immensely enjoying
this album. However, if you do mind, you might not want to revisit it ever
again. (5/10)

French Regarde Les Hommes Tomber
has seemingly decided to shift their sound (permanently?) from the predominant
hardcore punk aesthetics established on its excellent self-titled debut,
towards a more distinctive black metal traditionalism inked with the sign of
post-modernism. But being a band owning strong atmospheric inclinations, these
guys have not neglected the very ability to maintain high quality and massive
ambiance which is usually the exclusive domain of atmospheric hardcore/sludge
outfits, and now the band's music sounds even more epic and grand, having
intros, outros, instrumental passages and colossal soundscapes any band would
kill for.

The recording is sparse and airy, but quite tight, and the tracks are
less-crowded and a notch less intense than before. However, the ambiance is
still suffocating and the tunes captivating, but not due to stark originality
or songwriting artistry, but rather due to the aforementioned intense
atmosphere.

Sure, you can still notice the band's atmospheric hardcore roots peeping out
from intangible holes in the musical plot; you can still hear the robust
hardcore punk bass lines and the long instrumental passages a-la Neurosis and
such, but in the end, the depraved and bizarre 'feel' the recording emanates
warps and shifts the aesthetics (and the inevitable theatrics) towards the
black metal paradigm, especially when weighing this album against the previous
self-titled one.

The album's dark Biblical themes come to life, being resuscitated by the
music itself, and this Old Testament-centric soundtrack renders those timeless
stories evermore menacing and dramatic; the atmosphere conjures an intimidating
and hopeless setting, against which all the wrongdoings of man - as told in
those ancient texts - and their inevitable punishments are being acted,
enacted, repeated and exercised. The music perpetuates and perfects the epic
tale of dark deeds and heresy, brewed in a cauldron of shimmering tribal
rhythms and enigmatic chants. It all sounds mythical, magical, and so much
Biblical.

Expect at least a dozen repeated listening sessions before this album's
grandeur and singularity will be dawning upon you; it wouldn't be easy, as Exile
does tend not to impress initially with its slightly derivative choice of
style, safe songwriting and atmospheric hardcore inclinations that seem like
one of this era's musical bandwagons; but make no mistakes, this album IS
unique, as it delivers some of the most glorious, devouring and enormous
atmospheric moments ever recorded.

Sichelstein is the brainchild of a multi-media
artist by the name of Vanson, a Czech born musician
who now resides in Germany and whose musical tastes and albums vary quite a
bit, from electronic music to black metal to anything and everything in
between. Its self-titled album, released back in 2011, was probably one of Valse Sinsitre's most interesting
and accomplished releases of that very year. The style bears similarities with
label-mates Hypomanie, who excel in depressive rock
of the shoegaze-y type.

As a side note, Sichelstein's style might also be
categorized as post-black metal, even though the shoegaze genre predates what
we perceive today as black metal by at least a decade; and so dubbing this
brand of rock as being post something that had not even been born when
shoegaze/post punk ruled supreme seems a little absurd. In truth, this is a
circular process: one style feeding off its predecessors, the successors of
which feed off both and while updating the sound, they also make it sound
anachronistic and retro.

Take, for example, this mini album. It could have been recorded in the
beginning of what is known as the "dark eighties," feeling quite comfortable
among bands such as Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine,
Coil, Cabaret Voltaire, Bauhaus, Joy Division and such; but this very album, on
the other hand, couldn't have been born hadn't the artist behind it known
something about black metal, because it flirts with black metal so much that it
practically begs the listener to regard it as such: a black metal product, with
its semi-epic sounscapes, frantic and - for all
intents and purposes - insane vocals, the depraved atmosphere, the skeletal
tunes and the black metal-ish guitar sound. It all
sounds grey here, and crumbling and desolate and empty - just the way we like
it.

So basically, this album ties both musical eras - the eighties and the
nineties - in a seamless bundle rather elegantly, while keeping the melodies
simple and digestible, and the atmosphere dense and mysterious. This
interesting recording will probably find its place in the hearts of those who
have lived through both eras and have seen how the punk revolution becomes more
electronics-dependent, colder and more depressing than ever before; and how
that very youth angst has transformed into hate-filled, less apologetic, more
in-your-face type of rock 'n' roll we recognize nowadays as black metal.

The album has apparently been given a new-ish
version in 2014, with new artwork and an added bonus track. All in all, Sichelstein is still a potent musical endeavor
having the potential of becoming a highly addictive musical experience. You can
listen to it in its entirety on the artist's bandcamp site and obtain a copy. You need
this album in your collection. (7.9/10)

In the beginning there was the blastbeat; like an exotic
disease that has spread and become the bon ton of today's underground, a
household trend that used to be reserved only to those bands who we,
kids-of-that-era, referred to and reverently so, as Grindcore,
ooooh...

Almost every black metal-oriented album released by Les Acteurs
de l'Ombre Productions (abbreviated LADLO) sounds
initially the same in that respect. After all, blastbeats
are blastbeats, and even though variations do exist,
nothing has dramatically changed in the blastbeat
department for the last twenty years. So LADLO likes its bands fast and
furious, making it hard to discern which is which, at least in the beginning.

But LADLO also likes its bands to own a certain post-hardcore-ish charm; a singular sound that has been perfected mostly
by the French scene; bands such as Overmars, Celeste,
Year Of No Light and the mighty Dirge (or French-speaking bands, such as Swiss
band Rorcal) have forged a potent hybrid of hostile
black metal and atmospheric hardcore, resulting in some gorgeously lush and
bleak soundscapes that oppose yet complete each other seamlessly. That fact
will be known to most only when you venture deeper and repeatedly so, into the
bowels of the album, or into any LADLO Prod. album of
that streak.

Given time, it's going to be rather easy to notice how Deluge maneuver
elegantly between the purest form of insanely fast and galloping black metal
and doom-laden tranquility wreathing with dark, velvety, hypnotizing ambiances.
The shouted vocals are the only remnant of the classic hardcore punk roots, but
those too often venture off into the realms of high-pitched howls. The vocalist
sounds tortured, half in great pain and half filled with unbridled hatred; and
when coupling the unrelenting, searing, scorching vocals with the blastbeat maelstrom, the pain is almost palpable.

Mercifully, the blastbeat wrecking machine gives
way occasionally to the band's more artistic facet to emerge, in the form of
atmospheric instrumental pieces that are as desolate as they are beautiful. An oasis of dark hues and storm clouds that hide the sun and offer
no solace. Bass laden and aided by some field recordings, such as the
sound of rain and such, these atmospheric, blissful moments occasionally build
up to monstrous proportions by the funereal rhythms and guitar distortion. If
only for these moments alone, this album is worthy of a lukewarm praise. These
monumental tracks' zenith is the incorporation of a short blastbeat
section and even some piano keys. Then and only then do you realize the true
value and meaning of the blastbeat paradigm, as it
creates a divine, celestial scene like no other; it should, of course, be
introduced in the right context and the right timing, and knowing it - as well
as practicing it - is an art form in its own right: to know when blastbeats are essential and when they are redundant is a
knowledge every aspiring band should embrace.

These guys know how to do it right, and do it throughout the recording;
that's why this album is so appealing and occasionally beautiful, as it
captured the magic of music and it serves as a herald for music's
transcendental powers, when it's done right.

In the end, comparing Aether to any other
album out there would not do justice to the recording, and even though it bears
the French stamp and played in the typical LADLO mode of operation, Aether is a unique album and is, dare we say, like
nothing out there.

Aether owns the finesse of atmospheric gods
Dirge and the ferocity of grindcore forerunners
Napalm Death. Now, imagine those two expertly, artistically, tastefully blend -
and witness how epic-ness without end happens. (8/10)

Haar means cold sea fog as it occurs on the shores
of Scotland between spring and autumn, when warm air passes over the cold North
Sea creating a ghost-like fog that surely was the engine behind so many ghost
stories originating from those misty, mystic parts of the world.

Whether the band has registered that fact or otherwise, Haar
also means 'mountain' in Hebrew, and in Haar's case,
the music is indeed a mountain of flesh and might. Did we just say "Mountain of
Might"? Yes, we did, and as much as this Immortal reference mentioning was
purely coincidental, something in the epic factor of The Wayward Ceremony,
as well as in the vocals and abrasive guitar tone does remind us of Immortal's
slower and more guttural moments. But this album also brings to mind
Dissection's blade running sound, somewhere between the aesthetic of black
metal and that of quasi-melodic death metal; and melody - as you surely will
discover soon enough - plays a major role in Haar's
music, a major role.

The Wayward Ceremony exhibits complex, advanced playing patterns akin
to mid-era Abigor, but unlike the latter's, Haar's music is at all times accessible and pleasant on the
ear (pleasant in the extreme metal context, not to be confused with
"ear-friendly"). There's nothing experimental per se here; no "what-the-fuck?"
moments, no straying off from the basic, extreme, heavy metal paradigm as well.

This album is just a smooth and effortless journey through man's most
cavernous places and most obscure and wicked thoughts and deeds. So familiar, so engaging, so wickedly classy. The vocalist
is immense, his vocals are a darker version of Carcass' frontman
Jeff Walker (hence the death metal reference), and, aided by a crystalline
production that enhances every minute detail, the vocals sound exceptionally
clear and cruel, and can be understood even without reading the lyrics, which
are of the highest order.

The album's complexity does not overshadow the band's ability to write some
classy and smooth, atmospheric tunes without any pitfalls throughout the plot;
and even though Haar's treatment and handling of the
black/death metal hybrid is commendable and impressive, the music itself shows
a classic extreme metal motivation, not unlike stuff we've heard before.
Occasionally, the band would sound like a basic, dark rock combo who likeS to play those long, brooding, atmospheric rock 'n'
roll pieces of the melancholic and lamenting type.

Not everything is complex and progressive on The Wayward Ceremony
though. Some tracks exhibit a rather linear and straightforward approach; some
tunes are pretty simple. Those are best noticeable on the slower/slowest
moments. Then and there Haar flash its black/doom
hidden face - a face with which the band feel very
comfortable, and which allows it to offer some of the most exquisite moments
black/doom has ever seen, without being revolutionary.

Haar's Scottish origin is inconsequential in
regard to the music on display, as there are no typical geographical/musical
landmarks here, meaning you can only really guess where the band hails from.
We've heard music such as this coming from North-American, West-European,
Scandinavian and even Australian bands. The style is cosmopolitan, global,
limitless and essentially timeless. It is metal of the highest order that binds
together all styles, from all corners of the planet, into one macabre and
nocturnal recording; the depravity and wretchedness of which are only second to
the album's beautifully harsh melodies.

If you want to listen to some genuine piece of metal music for the new
millennium; an album that will quench your metallic thirst for intelligent,
perfectly obscure and hate-filled songs having a classic twist - The Wayward
Ceremony is as good a place to start. Dive in and be completely immersed!

Ya know, I've never been
a fan of Katatonia. So why on earth would I ever
consider liking this? The truth is told I can't stomach this, at all. Not only
it is bad, it is tragically bad. Memoirs Of A
Shattered Mind, the sophomore effort from Fractured Spine, is one of these
albums that have absolutely no redeeming qualities.

The best way to describe this release is as a bizarre mix between Dark
Tranquility, Katatonia, and an Emo live journal
entry. If I were to sum up this album in one phrase, it would be this; "Lacuna
Coil attempting funeral doom." When I want to be alone with my thoughts, I
throw on The Cure. When I sat down with this one, I wanted to throw it in the
trash.

With titles such as "Clock that ticks," "Deprived of Daylight" and "Suicide
Problem," one can easily judge a book by a cover. It's a neverending
laundry list of clichés, poorly written lyrics, and repetition we've all
seen a million times before. (2/10)

Oh boy, more power metal. There are only few bands that manage to pull this
off well, and Heroes of Vallentor is clearly not one
of those. The band's 2014 release, "Warriors Path Part 1" is so hollow, I'm
begging for them to not give the world part 2.
Listening to this album was a painful experience, one that I wouldn't wish
upon my worst enemy.

With titles such "The Questing Knights Vow," and "Lord Of Fire" you can
imagine what you're in for: repeated clichés that a Dungeons &
Dragons game would call shenanigans on.

I might forgive the repetitive nature of most of these clichés, if
they were done well, but nothing about this album is done well. The delivery,
the musicianship, the lyrical content (with lyrics such as "We shall gut you
alive/As you beg for mercy/We shall tear your hearts
out" and "I am the lord of wizards/ The firestorm of your doom," you pretty
much get the picture) - it is all lackluster, and quite forgettable.

Bands like this are a dime a dozen, and I still want my money back. (1/10)

I wasn't looking forward to this album at first, since I haven't enjoyed
solo guitar albums since the early '90s. Back then real musicians such as Steve
Via and Joe Satriani were still at the peak of their
popularity. Nowadays, I tend not to gravitate towards material such as this,
but after listening to this album, I'm glad I did.

Pyramids On Mars feels like Savatage
and Rising Force (albeit, without Yngwie J. Malmsteen's horrible ego) This entire album is the
masterwork of guitarist Kevin Estrella. Estrella's playing abilities match the
interstellar theme this album has, taking the listener on a surprising journey.

Estrella isn't reusing repetitive scales. He is an artist capable of
crafting intricate works with the guitar. I highly recommend this for fans of Trans-Siberian
Orchestra. (7/10)

We would like to think we've progressed since the early 2000's, hoping bands
would start to move away from the melodic death metal sound. This sound hasn't
really been entertaining, or relevant since the
release of Clayman
by In Flames.

Sadly, it seems that this sound is getting revisited, this time by Arkadia. This 2015 release reeks of recycled riffs that should
have stayed in the Century Media early 2000s catalogue. We'll give these
gentlemen credit, though: their songs are well crafted, and display sufficient
technical prowess. The flattery, however, stops there.

While we give the band a passing grade in the musicianship department, the
rest of the album is as stale as a sandwich that's been left too long on the
radiator. That would not have been an issue if the ideas were original, but
they are not.

The lyrical content is the most problematic. The lyrics are not well
written, and seem more like generic droppings from a late 90s emo band. We do
hope that these guys will develop over time as they certainly have potential. (4/10)

Blood Of The Ice Giants is the full-length
debut from Finland's Ymir's Blood. It's only a few steps away from being one of
our favorite recent releases. There were a lot of things on this album we
absolutely loved, and only a few we could not overlook. Listening to this
release instantly reminded us of the Hammerheart
- Nordland era of Bathory.

The only issues with this release are the vocals. They don't seem to match
the ferocity and driving power of the music. Aside from that, you can definitely
tell this band is striving to follow in Bathory's
footsteps. However, they're also a band still developing their own sound. As
more releases will follow, they are bound to be something great.

It's good to see paganized metal, that isn't formulaic and generic. Keep
your eyes on these guys they're going places. (7/10)

Hailing from the mecca of American thrash movement - California - thrashers
Fallen Angels present us our third album World in Decay. These guys seem
to keep progressing with every release they put out.

This album has something for anyone who might happen to be a fan of this
movement. It's got everything from complex leads, hooks, and the power of the
days of the old bridge militia.

It's not an album without flaws, but they're quite easy to overlook. It has
everything a throwback fan would kill for, but at the same time it has its
original qualities. (7/10)

Amer is the second album by the French
hardcore unit The Prestige. And it is hardcore indeed.

The music is relentless, and shows no signs of hope or mercy. There are only
brief hints of melody buried underneath the wall of noisy, distortion loaded guitar,
pounding drums and shouted vocals.

On the sixth song, "Negligee," The Prestige finally manages to
deliver something greater, as the band details a more comprehensive hardcore
experience using a proper buildup and the ambience to support it. Alas!, "Ingenue," which follows, tries to further build on that
with just vocals and guitar, but sounds like a rough demo track rather than an
actual song (so does "Petite Mort," which also captures the band in a
more naked sound that reveals its limitations).

Amer is not bad, if you want something to
bang your head to, or if have some serious anger issues to handle; but it does
not stand out in any department. (4.4/10)

Pirog, mainly on guitars but also on various
keyboard instruments and electronic devices, is accompanied by Michael Formanek on acoustic bass and Ches
Smith on drums, and together they detail instrumental stories that are full of
imagination as well as of captivating melodies.

This music has the openness of jazz, the drive and structure of rock and the
vision and sonic ingenuity of avant-garde/experimental music. All of these are
combined fluently into a grandiose aural experience of a clear narrative - a
narrative which is exciting and thrilling, and while it sounds pleasantly
familiar it is altogether something else. Take, for example, the two minute piece
"Minimalist," which concisely couples 21st Century King Crimson
math-metal with free jazz; or even more so, the scenic Americana-Jazz of
"Song in 5."

Tema is a recording full of beauty.
Engaging melodies are at the heart of each tune here, treated with sensitive,
crafted and concise jazz playing.

Antonio Adolfo is a seasoned Brazilian artist, and he is responsible for all
the compositions here (some are co-written with others) as well as the piano
playing. Each of the pieces has its own melodic hooks, and these are kept even
on the improvisation parts, maintaining the lyrical articulation of the
music.

The opening "Alegria For
All" features budding unisons of the piano with flute and electric guitar.
These are a bit mischievous, and Latin flavors are incorporated gently to the
percussions. The electric guitar solo (by Leo Amuedo)
here is truly magnificent, so much that we just had to point it out.

The second track "Natureza" is more
plaintive and fragile, but the interplay (including, one again, exceptional
guitar playing) is bright and makes everything sound hopeful.

These aforementioned tones recur throughout Tema,
which is a consistently elevating, intimate yet lush album. This is tuneful
jazz of the highest caliber. (8.6/10)

Armonite is a progressive rock group led by
composer/keyboardist Paolo Fosso and electric violinist Jacopo Bigi. The lineup is completed by
drummer Jasper Barendregt and none other than bassist
Colin Edwin (of Porcupine Tree fame).

While Armonite does not redefine the genre, the
(almost entirely) instrumental pieces here hold a disciplined narrative and
build up; and they make for an engaging instrumental journey, as there is a
cinematic quality to the music. In fact, the last track (which does not appear
on the band's bandcamp page
but does appear on the Soundcloud version available through the band's website
is a take on Klaus Doldinger's
"Bastian's Happy Flight" (composed for the film The Neverending Story) and it fits really well.

The comparative intensity of the rhythm section is what sets this effort in
the 21st century, and gives it further boost. Unfortunately, some of the
keyboards sound a bit anachronistic with their 80s styled sound; but other than
that the production is meticulous and splendorous. (7/10)

On the first, "Eso," the screamy vocals (about the thirteen minute) actually take away
from the violent, doomsday buildup. A similar, yet more rhythmic vibe is
explored in the last part of the piece (19' and on), but at a point its nailing
effect is once again diminished by a blunt usage of vocal screams.

In the first section of "Exo," the album's second track, the music
magnificently swirls and wraps around you, threatening to devour you. A clash
signals a turn of events (which can be likened to the exposure of the monster's
face) with a violent guitar line making an appearance about six and a half
minutes into the piece, hovering and then merging with an electronic line of
noise; and then, it's time for Hawkwind inspired
vocals to read out the lyrics, with no real added value.

Dark Buddha Rising's music is ominous and dark, and at times it is even
engaging in its downward attraction. But as a whole, there's not a lot of
ingenuity or adventurousness here to justify the sludgy doom approach, and it
lacks the cohesiveness or the climax to make it all worthwhile. (5.5/10)

This is the second release by Deckchair Poets, and it is still marketed as a
prog-rock product by the label - an approach we still
can't quite understand. True, there's a
short proggy keyboards solo on "Quick Joey Small,"
but it's hardly enough to justify the progressive association (and we're
actually quite liberal with that, as we wrote in our review of the band's debut
in issue #75).

Like on the debut, 2013 recording, the songs on this new release are simple
but effective and witty. They manifest the blues based rock approach, owing
much more to Deep Purple than to Yes (of which Deckchair Poet's keyboardist
Geoff Downes is also a member). In fact, Deckchair
Poets can actually be the less serious alternative to modern-day Deep Purple,
with its comfortable, driving rock.

Naming few of the highlights, we can mention "We're All Chasing Peter
Pan," which is the band's take on Ian Dury's
"Sex and drugs and rock 'N' roll"; "Everybody Wants To Live In
America," which serves the guitar driven blues rock complete with
harmonica and organ solos; and "I'm Gonna Tear
Your Playhouse Down" which is a slow yet tasty Blues number.

There are comic interludes embedded between the full-length songs, and these
are successful in spicing things up or in delivering some shorter punches, at
times in offbeat musical styles (check out "People"). In a way, this
feels like a take on the classic The Who 1967 album The Who Sell Out.

Surprisingly, Deckchair Poets still sounds fresh and energized on this
second release despite sticking to the same formula that was used on the first
album. (7.4/10)

We typically don't care much for funk, but every now and then comes a
musical offering that manages to shake our preconceptions of the genre.

On paper, this release has all the ingredients to deter us. It holds
festive, happy music. It uses a stellar cast of guests (we typically prefer
organic units) and it uses funk as its principal vehicle. Strangely enough, we
find it to be a cohesive and rewarding listening.

The opening instrumental "Sugar Doosie"
brings on the funky, party music vibe with a celebrative horns section, a
wrenched trombone feature and some embedded shouts of enthusiasm before the
song "Higher and Higher," which features JJ Grey (whose recent
release is also reviewed in this issue) on vocals, carries you higher and
higher with its loopish, electro-funk / R&B grabs
you.

When you think things can't get any better, the title track hits you on a
different note. It's a mellow number, with Macy Gray hitting the right notes;
emotionally that is.

This New Orleans band has been around for twenty years or so, and it
certainly knows its craft. The following numbers keep flowing, as the album's
clever arrangement continues without any setbacks. Some other highlights
include the vintage rock and roll groove of "Long Live The Borgne,"
which relies on bass and electric guitars as well as keyboards; the sexy,
modern R&B song "Right On" (Ms. Charm Taylor's vocal delivery is
really tasty, and it's the kind of tracks we would not have believed we can
listen to, yet alone enjoy - but we do!); and the surprisingly frightening,
alien-like instrumental "Buck 77."

Oh, and you'll find another heartwarming song in the form of "Does It
Really Makes A Difference" and a patient yet uplifting, bluesy, organ
instrumental as the closing piece - and these help the album maintain the right
balance between its party and its affectionate elements. Coming to think of it,
we basically covered it all.

With Into The Deep, the joy of life just
springs out of the speakers. Who would not want that? (8/10)

The American band Devo was formed in the 70s, and its proto-punk music
corresponds with the music of Talking Heads.

The 2014 performance captured here (on DVD) finds the band focusing on its early
material (which is self-proclaimed as raw and experimental, fitting titled
"Hardcore Devo"), with which they began dealing with the concept of
de-evolution (mankind regressing instead of evolving, in short).

The band starts seating down - a statement of its own in the rock world.
Even while seating down, the music benefits from its staging, and the vocal
effects on the opening "Mechanical Man" portray the number with a sci-fi feel.

The songs still sound fresh, maybe because they are primitive in nature.
"Bambo Bimbo," for instance, relies on a
chugging, distorted rhythm guitar that is quite metallic in nature, coupled
with anachronistic keyboards, creating a rewarding effect that sounds relevant
(perhaps even more than its brave lyrics). "Beehive," on the other
hand, is almost pure blues, but also has its twist of being twisted.

When it is time to perform its fractured adaptation of The Rolling Stones'
"Satisfaction" - the band rises up. From that point on not only they
play standing up, but they also dress up in overalls (and later add masks) to
perfect their stage persona. The band then demonstrates some knottier material,
starting with "Timing X / Soo Bawls," which has progressive rock vibe
due to its awesome (though still somewhat basic) use of electronics.

The proto-punk is evident and perfected on "Uncontrollable Urge."
The song's performance exhibits proto-punk that relies on blues based rock
(think of Led Zeppelin going minimal punk, possibly with a bit of The Who's stage antics).

Narration and interview footage are occasionally embedded into the songs.
This was basically the only thing that could have taken away from this DVD's
appeal to newcomers. Luckily, there is an option to watch the excellent,
multi-camera shot concert footage without these spoken disturbances, so even if
have never heard the band before (like us) we strongly encourage you to pick
this DVD up and get acquainted with Devo and its effective art of de-evolution,
available here as a complete audio-visual package. (8/10)

Ambient music has the force to elevate you. In Two Seas, the split
release by the German musician Mario Grönnert
(responsible for the first two tracks) and the Japanese duo Monfish
(the three other pieces), has music that ebbs and flows and carries you with
it.

On the opening drone "Of Departures" you can feel the rays of
light brimming through the dark. The following "...and Strange
Horizons" continues similarly, yet with more distinctive sounds - a female
chant, piano notes, hints of classical chamber music; all these make for an
even brighter, celestial dawning.

The two aformentioned Grönnert
tracks set the stage for the Mondfish material which
follows in a similar vein. The intimate, low profile ambience flows back and
forth, embedded with sounds. The Mondfish occurrences
are bit more disturbing (compared with Grönnert's)
as the sounds with which they fill the atmosphere are at times of a noisier
character. The closing "Hidden Pieces" once again incorporates
classicalism, this time in form of guitar playing.

In Two Seas, though a split release (36 minutes in length), sounds
very much cohesive, and it is enthralling in its lush minimalism. (8/10)

JJ Grey & Mofro's music is basically a blend
of southern rock and soul. While this might not sound original at first (the
title track, for example, sounds very much like Atomic Rooster in its funky
period, enriched with Blood Sweat & Tears / Chicago styled horn section),
the result is surprisingly refreshing. It strips southern rock of its
relentlessness and strips the soul influences of their exaggeration. Mofro is a great band, offering excellent guitar playing,
tight grooves (the bass and drums are augmented by an organ to deliver these)
as well as the occasional brass section spice - all of these ALWAYS serve the
songs (check out the instrumentation on "Brave Lil' Fighter," and
particularly pay attention to the regal trumpet feature towards the end of the
song).

And the songs - they are so kind and hopeful, and as such they are
comforting and engaging with their enwrapping joy. Mind you, it's not the crowd
pleasing type of joy, but rather a joy that stems from accepting the world and
yourself, even if times are rough (quoting the closing "The
Hurricane": "I felt the wind blow in / I felt the rain come down / I
felt the peace within / That can never be without...ride on").

On top of the fine music and its careful instrumentation (listen to the held
back, sliding blues of "The Island" to get the idea), JJ Grey's vocal
delivery is commendable, as it features the most consistently melodic lines (a
rare thing these days!), and these make the songs stick and touch. (8/10)

This latest release by the England based Liberez
is one of the most impressive collages we've heard in the Eletronic/Industrial/Post-Rock
department.

The album comprises finely crafted electro-acoustic numbers, split into two
sections ("Of Milk," which includes the first seven tracks, and
"Of Blood," which is the final track). While these benefit from a certain
repetitive angle that hooks you up as a listener, there is also a vague
narrative that takes you places.

Take, for example, "Grease The Axles": it
starts with gentle bells, and builds on what sounds like a piano line of a
dreamscape nature, with machinery gradually gushing as further buildup, while
covering a sampled female voice; and it all eventually feels and sounds like a
discordant symphony for stringed instruments.

"Subotica," which follows the aforementioned track, incorporates a
more rhythmic element into that pseudo symphonic notion; serving to demonstrate
just how creative this outfit is.

There is a strange hymnal quality to the pieces - and this is one quality
you certainly do not expect to be found in dark, noisy pieces such as the ones
here; but it is here. With no lyrics or clean melodic lines, numbers like
"How Much For Your Brother" or "Stop
Your Breathing," which is filled with interesting to mesmerizing sounds,
manage to make you feel like you are listening to a song.

The closing, six minute "Of Blood" benefits from a slower vibe and
a semi-crescendo development - from dry beats to a low key song drenched in
atmospheric yet concrete sound; alluding to the same feel of a symphony we
mentioned earlier while conflicting it with pits (kind of like a heaven and
hell battle). (9.2/10)

In a more compact form of trio, the band remains playful. This instrumental,
modern, progressive music juggles around the listener as if he is visiting in
an adult amusement park.

The extensive use of keyboards in various shades (all three members share
the keyboards credits, in addition to the other instruments they employ -
guitars, bass, banjo, piano, drums and turntables) is colorful and remains
organic, portraying sceneries of exquisite marvel. As a result, the knotty
music is so well articulated and detailed, so much that it becomes animated. Animated, but somewhat surreal.

The vividness of both the compositions and their performance makes up for
any lack of immediacy, as although engaging melodies do visit from time to time
(such as the guitar lines on the harmonious "Tandem," which at times
sounds like a lush version of King Crimson) it seems like Miriodor's
main intention was not to make you hum the tunes but to create a unique
adventure which you will keep coming back to; just like an amusement park, we
did say.

The new album by Sweden's Mustasch finds the band's
pop characteristics enhanced in comparison with some of the previous releases
we've heard by the band. This is obvious straight from the opening "Yara's Song," which - apart from a very primitive
rhythm - features an orchestral treatment that colors the song with kitsch.

Luckily, the second song, "Breaking Up With
Disaster" manages to fix some of the earlier impression, as it is basically rawer
and rougher, and has a strong chorus - the kind that sticks the first time you
hear it. It serves to remind us that Mustasch is a
heavy metal band at heart.

The mellow "The Rider" follows, and with its string arrangement
(violins and violas) and background female vocals the kitsch returns. You might
at first consider this an attempt at delivering an epic, but it's not; it's
just the intro to an epic that never arrives! If in the past, the string
arrangements pushed the band's songs forward, here they just emphasize how
hollow the song is.

The rest of the album continues with a blend of metal riffs and rhythms,
various degrees of anthems and a production that borrows pop music esthetics
such as bombast and forced, pseudo song buildup. Take
for example "Dreamers" - it could have been a good song as it is
basically well written and has a cute folk metal lick; but the overproduction
kills it with unbearable keyboards / electronic effects, and there's a point in
which there is a determined drive towards a climax that is just isn't there.
Same thing can be said about "Be Like A Man"
whose surprising Faith No More vibe is neutralized by the falsified
excessiveness. (6/10)

If you are looking for a classy guitar duet, look no further! The
instrumental Chasing Tales by Pete Oxley and Nicolas Meier is just that.

You won't even need to go beyond to first track - "The Followers"
- to acknowledge that. This opening track is simply stellar, with its gently
driving rhythm carrying a load of dazzling guitar lines, all played with charm,
ease and the highest level of interplay.

The rest of the instrumentals - all bar the last one are original tunes -
follow a similar path, but Oxley and Meier manage to maintain their appeal by
various techniques; some of these are sound related - as the synth and glissentar (an Oud influenced guitar by Godin) features on
"Bridge" and the like demonstrate.

But even more essential to the freshness of Chasing Tales is the
diversity of the written pieces, as these make them so endearing and colorful.
Take for example "Tales" with its Spanish flavor,
"Riverside" with its Arabic influences or the Egberto
Gismonti influenced, open narrative of "Compass
Points" and you'll see what we mean. (8.4/10)

Line Art Records is a new label dedicated to creative improvised music, and
this first release by the label - the debut recording by Payne, Lindal and Liebowitz (on
clarinet, violin and piano respectively) - appropriately comprises improvised,
modern chamber music.

Though not discordant, the music is rarely harmonic.
At times the music sounds scattered with the chances of encounter being
probabilistic; a bit as if the players are merely tuning their instruments.

There are moments, however, when this works. On "Unspoken," for
example the setting is minimal; and once the understated sounds establish it as
spacious, the ambience seems to respond, stressing the occurrence and
eventually (on the succeeding "B/E") leading into a playful
interplay between the violin and the clarinet - an interplay which soars into the sky
and circles around.

Truth be told, we did not find a lot of ingenuity nor did we find enough
thrilling moments that justify preferring this album over the multitude of
improvised, modern music out there. If anything, its attractiveness stems from
its relative lightness and clean, classical music derived esthetics, as these
may allow a listener new to modern creative music to absorb the music with
ease. (6.3/10)

Until receiving this release the only other recording by the
Finnish-American guitarist we knew was his 2001 Cuneiform release Apocalypso, and while it was impressive - as Bjorkenheim played his demanding piece all by himself as a
virtual ensemble - it was also a bit strict (and perhaps mostly of appeal to avant rock fans). Here he is leading a modern jazz quartet,
and while his guitar playing is at least as dazzling with both
sonics and creativity, the real ensemble
playing makes it all the more lively.

eCsTaSy is amongst
the rare releases that made us go "wow" (such recordings mostly come
from the brave Cuneiform Records these days). The bright sonic pallet mixes the
acoustic sounds of contrabass, drums and saxophones with the electric guitar
driven through various effects, always to a great effect and never as a
gimmick. Bjorkenheim's electric guitar rollicking
feels truly animated and spirited here, and as such has a distinctive voice.

The tonal adventure is combined with tunes filled with melodic sense; tunes
whose purposeful, emotional tales are told with the suspense of active,
clashing rhythmic patterns and improvisational freedom. It all sounds
inventively new as a whole; and even more important, it sounds honest,
energized and elevating.

At times, such as on "Sos" and "As
luck would have it" - when the scorching saxophone of Pauli Lyytinen co-leads the tune with Bjokenheim's
guitar over punchy rhythm section - this quartet reminded us of Markus Stauss' Spaltklang. But eCsTaSy is actually more varied than any Spaltklang release, offering a free jazz styled nature
adventure on "Through The Looking Glass," a
tribal dance on "Subterrnean Samba" and
more.

This quartet has released a new album titled Out Of The Blue in 2015, and we are extremely curious to listen to it and hear what fresh
sounds the group has concocted for us this time. (9/10)

The new release by guitarist Robben Ford is a sensitive, modern blues rock
affair. Ford delivers simple yet effective songs, using a language that is
clearly a blues dialect - direct, concise and convincingly unearthing internal,
personal concerns and passions. The production and tonal shades are
contemporary, providing the immediate, tuneful material a notable attractiveness
that makes it all the more accessible.

Ford's guitar playing is on the brighter side of the blues, and if you wish
to hear how uplifting his playing can be you better check out "Rainbow
Cover" with its budding guitar melody. Ford's band is not only adept but
also a creative force, and the piano and organ playing of Jim Cox, in
particular, contributes to the album's shining
optimism.

Quite a few artists make a guest appearance here, but it is ZZ Ward who
steals the show on "Breath Of Me" - her duet
with Ford. This R&B song stands in stark contrast with mainstream pop
trends (which we attribute to TV music competitions such as American Idol).
It is a song that does not peak, but rather breathes: Ford's guitar wails
temperately to a slow, pulsating rhythm; and it is within this framework and
with a suitable reservation that ZZ Ward manages to showcase her impressive
talent as a soul vocalist, giving the words the feel they deserve and
transforming them into an effectively affecting offering. (7.7/10)

Groove Is King is the second full length release by the supergroup Rock Candy Funk Party. Drummer Tal Bergman,
guitarists Joe Bonamassa and Ron DeJesus,
and Mike Merritt on bass - all technically proficient players - are the heart
of the ensemble, with a number of guests contributing to augment its crossover
funk music.

If funk is your thing then this album definitely deserves a stab. The funk
pulsates throughout the release with much diversity: the opening title track
mixes the funk with rock and electronic music, and "Low Tide" picks
up from there with notes of late period Miles Davis styled jazz-funk, horn
section included (the renowned trumpet player Randy Brecker
is credited for the album's horn arrangements!).

Later, "East Village" offers a more relaxed tone in form of
exquisite and sensitive guitar playing with a right amount of blues thrown in,
and it is a testimony to the good taste with which the funk is typically
handled here. "If Six Was Eight" is an accomplished percussive
feature, while "Cube's Brick" is tinged with Weather Report styled
jazz-rock.

"Don't Be Stingy With The SMPTE" adds disco into the mix, and is
actually one of the best guitar based disco tunes you are likely to hear, even
though it could have benefited from slight editing; and "Rock Candy,"
despite its title, is actually the jazziest piece, with by-the-book motif
presentation followed by spot on guitars, keyboards, bass, trumpet and sax
soloing.

One of the album's most surprising numbers is an instrumental cover of Peter
Gabriel's "Digging In The Dirt." We have
come to the conclusion that any preconception about the song should be shaken off
prior to approaching it, as Rock Candy Funk Party stripped the song of
its original, emotional context and simply used the tune as a vehicle for
something new, resulting in one of the most festive pieces on the album.

One the downside, "C You On The Flip Side" does not add much
character to the album, and the Electronic Dance Music genre representation -
"The Fabulous Tales Of Two Bands" - should have been avoided (even
though its The Prodigy bits are confronted with Zeppelinesque vibes, we argue that even the dedicated
listeners who are acceptive of all the aforementioned
crossover attempts will find this one extraneous; luckily it's the last track
so you can just stop the album before the track starts). (8/10)

One step forward, two steps back. That's the story of this Israeli proggy, alternative rock band. Whereas the 2011 Natural
Causes showed improvement over its 2005 debut, this third Solstice Coil
release is a somewhat of a recoil.

An independent release, Commute feels a bit half baked. We got used
to that fact that the band's songs typically require multiple listening
sessions, but at this point it seems like an excuse. There are not enough
engaging melodies, and truth be told, the vocal delivery is just not good. The
ineffectiveness of the vocals can be sampled on "Meltdown": it is one
of the lesser dressed songs here, relying mostly on keyboards to deliver the
setting, and as such it leaves the front stage for the vocals; alas, the
singing is pedestrian and does not evoke emotion.

The production is also problematic at times. Some of the songs could have
used trimming, whereas the entire album ends abruptly; and a few moments seem
amateur, especially on the acoustic guitar feature "Anywhere"
(otherwise, a well written piece) and on "Forget You Ever Saw Us"
which comes off quite messy.

But complaining aside, there are undisputed moments of beauty on this album.
The aforementioned "Meltdown" has a wonderful guitar solo, and
there's excellent guitar work on some other tracks, occasionally with a nod to
Genesis' Steve Hackett (on the instrumental "An Oldie (But Your Kids Are Gonna Love It)" as well as on "Shuffle The Cards").

The true star of this recording, however, is keyboardist Shai Yallin (who is also a member of the metal outfit
Subterranean Masquerade). Yallin shines right from
the very start, supplying a lively, melodic line on the opening "New
Eyes" as well as nuanced shades using his Fender Rhodes. On "Shuffle The Cards," arguably the best song on the album, he
contributes an essential sense of harmony; on "Her Silent Silhouette"
his work is as attentive as it is colorfully imaginative; and on "The
Bargain" he provides some deadly synth firings.

While we recommend this for fans of Porcupine Tree and Marillion
who are willing to take time and sink into their music, we also recommend that
Solstice Coil will embrace a more naked approach for a follow-up. The band has
already proved that it can richly decorate its songs - now it's time to tune the
songwriting and vocal performance, and make the songs a bit more
catchy for those who will not dwell on the band's albums as long as we
did in order to find the curiosities. (7/10)

A Life Unto Itself is the latest, solo
release by Steve Von Till, who is known as a guitarist and vocalist for Neurosis.
This is an intimate album featuring music that is typically low-key, and relies
on Von Till's bass vocals for emotional impact.

Von Till's backing is kept quite minimal throughout. It is basically
acoustic in nature (not to be confused with purely acoustic though!), and the
first two songs - "In Your Wings" and the title track (on both you
will find Von Till accompanied by pedal steel and viola players) correspond
with folk music while their sparsity reservedly adds a dimension of darkness
and ache.

The following songs mostly pick up the setting that was already established
and elaborate it. On "A Language Of Blood" a
more menacing curtain is maintained (with some effect applied to the guitar),
with percussion and hurdy gurdy joining the aforementioned
instruments. "Night Of The Moon" takes an even more electronic turn,
utilizing keyboard instruments - this one sounds like a Mark Lanegan song, and while Von Till does not necessarily
benefit from the comparison (as Lanegan's vocal
performance, in general, has more impact), the lazy, almost nerve-racking
proceeding holds and maintains not only the mood but also the artist's
idiosyncrasy.

The same slow pace characterizes the rest of the material, enwrapping the
listener gradually. Von Till's voice occasionally cracks, suggesting a Tom
Waits reference, but otherwise his slightly monotonic delivery has a
mantra-like effect that can be bewitching, depending on how deep you are
willing to sink. (7/10)

The first two albums by the Scottish, 70s rock band are presented, each on a
separate CD, on this reissue.

The eponymous 1970 release is a solid blues rock album that introduced the
band to the world. The vocal talents of Maggie Bell and bassist Jimmy Dewar
(who would later front Robin Trower's band on albums
such as the 1974 masterpiece Bridge Of Sighs) are showing, even though
they are not quite at peak yet, as is Les Harvey's guitar. John McGinnis, on
the other hand, shows a more stable and inventive grip on his keyboard
instruments.

The sonic quality is a bit shaky, most likely due to the original production
that sounds raw (rather than due to inapt remastering),
as it seems that the album was basically recorded as live in the studio takes.
The authenticity of the music is eminent, even though it sounds a bit dated.
The side long "I Saw America" is the most interesting track here,
blending the band's blues rock with folk rock that is Fairport Convention
derived, as well as with some jazzy licks.

The second, 1971 album sees the band honing its songcraft.
The transition from the aforementioned, somewhat jam oriented "I Saw
America" to more structured tunes with almost prog-rock
character into them is felt from the very opening, with a detailed
instrumental, proto-prog styled intro leading into
the melody of "Sad Mary." Even simpler songs like "Things Are
Getting Better" (which carries a bit of a Joe Cocker influence) maintain
an epic sense due to a clever buildup. Similarly, on "Love" the band
members explore the basic theme beautifully, with a steady pace, to a trance
inducing effect. In its way, it can be considered a peaceful counteraction to
the noisier Krautrock genre.

The biggest surprise here is the title track of Ode To John Law, which
- putting aside the 70s production aesthetics of untampered, natural tones -
actually sounds modern, and reminded us of some avant-rock
chants in its vocal approach (like those practiced by Caveman Shoestore's Elaine di Falco or Thinking Plague's Deborah
Perry decades later!). The playing is also more open and free, suggestive of avant garde music influence. This
revelation alone might be worth the price of admission for some (ourselves included).

The bonus material - two live tracks on each CD - are
culled from another Angel Air 2CD Stone The Crows set Radio Sessions 1969-72.
The live take of "The Touch Of Your Loving
Hand" is actually better in both performance and sound than the album's
version.

(7/10 and if you're an avant-rock fan add an extra
point, as you NEED to listen to "Ode To John
Law," if only for its anthropological value.)

Like many other contemporary free jazz releases, it is quite hard to
articulate the music contained here in words. There is something primordial in
this music laid by Matt Lavelle (trumpets, flugelhorn and alto clarinet), Jack DeSalvo (various string instruments) and Tom Cabrera (drums
and percussion); a return to the primitive sounds.

The music echoes and reflects nature. The
nature squeaks, screeches, hisses and whistles through the velvet yet
discordant sounds of the horns as well as through the spacious, frequently
tribal sounding rhythms that are constantly active while maintaining a sense of
sparsity. Such a reflection can be disastrous, but here, the players approach
the recreation of primitivism with reservedness that
prevents dispersal. There is a welcomed openness to the recording which invites
you to be engulfed by the sonics, rather than being
struck by them.

As the album unfolds, as evident on "Alternate Presents and Multiple
Focus" but even more prominent on "The Gates of Horns," melodic
sparks creep in, illustrating the alignment of nature to create harmonious
beauty. (7.9/10)

You Catch Fire catches fire from the start, with a fat rock sound and
a tasty guitar lick.

The Seduction plays in your face, fervent and proud. The band's music has a
classic heavy rock and roll drive (not unlike the retro rock of Wolfmother or Witchcraft) that blends the fast tempos of Motorhead with the guitar tones of Black Sabbath, in a more
wailing and rollicking fashion. Coming to think of it, The Seduction almost
sounds like a punk version of Iron Maiden.

The songs are effectively engaging: they are raw yet with clear melodic
hooks; they are fun yet in no way ridiculous; their rhythm is driving; and there's
enough character to the songs to keep you alert throughout. "Flavor Of The Weak," for example, benefits from its suspended,
ska-like midsection, while "The Flood" has
sick boogie-rock vibe into it prior to unveiling with nearly epic proportions. (8.2/10)

The Visit is the Canadian duo of cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne (of Musk
Ox, whose latest release we reviewed here)
and vocalist Heather Sita Black, and the power and beauty they produce is beyond
comprehension.

This duet is enwrapping with its intimacy and its well-articulated musical
adventurousness. It is exotic and dark, and yet classical. The duo manages to
avoid the clichés of metal and world music by assimilating only the true
essence of these influence into the avant garde chamber setting.

Weinroth-Browne playing is storming yet well disciplined. It often carries a
heavy metal feel, especially in the heavy, overwhelming setting it conveys; but
it is of an equal appeal to modern, classical music aficionados who can
appreciate the works of Shostakovich. With just one instrument, Weinroth-Brown
weaves an intricate, intense plot.

Heather Sita Black is every bit as attractive as
her companion. This is not a trivial compliment coming from us, as we are not
ones to admire classical music derived vocals nor do we care much about
symphonic female vocals when used in metal (or rock music). But Sita Black is something else. She is a true vocal artist,
and she portrays emotions and turmoil even when she sings wordlessly, and she
explores the music in an avant garde
fashion as well as delivers it with appropriate natural beauty that brings her lyrics -
poems of ache, anguish and dissolution as well as of revival - to life. Her
presence is exotic, as she occasionally incorporates eastern motifs into her
vocalization; as does Weinroth-Browne into his cello playing, in a perfectly
befitting manner (listen to "Offering"!).

The closest thing we have heard recently that comes anywhere near the music
captured on this album is Empty Days' performance of John Downland's
"Flow My Tears" (read here), but The Visit's music
is all original and every bit as riveting and thrilling, if not more so; and it
lasts throughout the entire album. This is emotive, acoustic music that speaks
louder than any distortion can get, and has a cinematic quality that will
enthrall you for fifty five minutes.

Holding equal amounts of classicism and avant garde, Through Darkness Into
Light is a masterpiece that is both harsh and sublime. (10/10)

In his new album Warren Haynes establishes himself as a singer-songwriter of
a high caliber.

The primarily acoustic, folk music infused songs demonstrate a strong
songwriting character, while there is still a nod to the American jam rock that
Haynes is typically associated with (as a member of Gov't Mule and the
Allman Brothers Band). There is plenty of extended musical interplay here,
especially between the various stringed instruments (electric and
acoustic guitars, mandolin, violin and banjo). In fact, the album stretches for
almost 80 minutes, and the songs - as surprising as it may sound when
considering the genre - actually benefit from the openness and creative
wandering, even if some tend to slightly overstay their welcome (beyond the
point of effectiveness, that is, but hey! jam rock aficionados are not likely
to complain about this!).

The country vibes as well as the sincerity and the accessibility of the
songs reminded us of one of our favorite albums - East Of
Eden's self-titled 1971 album;
though Ashes & Dust is more laid back and overall more reserved.

Railroad Earth, which serves as the backing band here, is instrumental to
the richness and wholeness of the songs, while Haynes' soulful performance has
an immediate grip. This is one spellbinding journey. (8/10)

Zevious is a guitar-bass-drums power trio playing
hard rocking avant-rock music. The music hits you in
the face, and that's no mean feat given that the music tends to incorporate
some of the avant-rock sophistication of complex
rhythmic patterns and maneuvers. With a background in jazz and a metallic sound
(mostly the electric bass which resonates in a ravaging fashion; the rest feels
more natural in comparison), the pieces come off like a knotty twist on Meshuggah.

These guys certainly know their game in terms of musical playing, and yet
the pieces leave something to desired. The relentless
drive feels, at times, like a cover for some undeveloped compositions.

Passing Through the Wall is an effective,
punchy album, but we would like to see the band developing a more distinctive,
compositional voice for its next release. (7.4/10)

This weird recording is a marriage between jazz/fusion, blues, French
chanson, wedding music and elevator music. Seriously. This, in addition to the spoken
parts (no singing though), is the basis of this New York-based band, its
playground where it fools around and experiment. Philosophically-driven,
free-flowing, free-form and amorphous, the music of Copernicus is undefinable
and overall original, but there's a big difference between being original and
being appealing. Copernicus' L'Eternite Immediate is by no means
appealing, unfortunately. Too goofy for its own sake, too restrained and
unadventurous, this album may have got a myriad of melodies, styles and
aesthetics - but none is truly engaging or interesting. It's too bluesy, too
mundane, too safe and lacks passion or excitement, both invested in the music
and radiated toward the listener.

L'Eternite Immediate is French-spoken (for the most part), hence
irrelevant to non-French speakers who'd like to delve into Copernicus' message,
or philosophy. There must be some sort of philosophy here, otherwise why bother
with so much speaking throughout the recording? But a habitual listener would
be none the wiser after listening to this oddball, which will in turn increase
the redundancy-factor attributed to this album.

Lame and non-creative, pedestrian and unappealing, this recording is not
something a good, heavy, dark, intricate or subversive music fan should embrace
or enjoy. Avoid, if you can. (3.5/10)

From all places in the world, Georgia is probably the last place where one
of the year's best funeral/doom/death metal was likely to be found; and yet it
was found. For Ennui, a Georgia-based funeral doom/death metal band (and
probably one of the very few metal bands situated in this country; The Metal
Archives lists only 18 heavy metal/hard rock bands in total hailing from that
former Soviet Union country) has delivered, with this third full length studio
album, not only the best album in the band's short-lived career, but also an
outstanding achievement in every measure and every scale, and probably, just
probably - one of best extreme doom metal albums of recent years.

Ennui has shown a tremendous potential right from the get-go. From the very
first sounds of the band's debut, the music immediately sparked magic conveyed
by Ennui's extreme yet exquisite - dare we say original - form of cavernous
doom metal. Something in the conviction with which they played; something in
their songwriting methodology, their free-form compositions and their utterly
dark pessimism oozing from the speakers - have marked Ennui as unique, and
realization of their shining potential was a no-brainer. Then came the second
hit from these somber Georgians, and some cool splits and now this, their third
and crowning achievement, and their most accessible recording to date.

Listening to this monster is pure enjoyment for those who like their metal
professionally done, interesting, crushingly heavy yet melodic; a recording
equipped with the best production possible. The music flows effortlessly, like
an oily fat worm of black goo, slowly, carefully, intently, the music flows, like
hot tar, through the canyons of the mind and soul, always melodic, always
engaging - toward a bleak conclusion.

This joyless, sunless wave of darkness, aided by a pristine production to
match, is highlighting the band's ability to create some intriguing drumming
patterns, unconventional and complex, using a very pronounced double bass kick
drum and a really huge kettle drum sound, playing a major role side by side
with the enormous throat performance (screams, growls, and tortured tunes
howled from the throats of some banshees); and the mesmerizing guitar leads:
fine, euphonious yet thorny and abrasive - Ennui's music wounds and bruises.

Despite the fact the entire recording sounds like a single indivisible
piece, with little variation that might significantly set one track apart from
the next, the whole album is so greatly written and executed - so much that one
wouldn't mind listening to either one track over and over again or to the whole
album in a single session, despite the emotional burden it generates with its
subterranean and pessimistic visionary music. Falsvs Anno Domini is that
good an album; every track is a world of dark hues and mysteries abound, and
the entire album - a universe of somber colors and luscious compositions.
Falsvs Anno Domini introduces dissonance alongside harmony; traditionalism
alongside sophistication, and does not lose its grip on the listener for a
single moment, remaining spellbinding with its rich funeral-esque sentiments.

An exhaustive yet utterly rewarding experience, this album - the third
masterpiece in a row by the unsung Ennui - has got the impact and enormity of
UK's psychedelic funeral doom/death masters Esoteric; not lesser in talent or
vision, Ennui have created an album for the ages, a document of awe and tragedy.
(9/10)

Like a bunch of crazy stoners, these Russians sound as if they were abducted
straight from the Sixties or the Seventies, playing that carefree, hippie,
semi-psychedelic desert rock n' roll, and they even got a flute, imagine that!

But there's a twist in the plot here! Suddenly, those sun-baked, blissful
moments are being covered with sonic grey clouds that render the music gloomy
and transport it into the doom dimensions. Groove-laden melancholia and dark
sentiments then rule, playing what little game they play in a circular,
repetitive, hypnotic manner; and a trance-inducing riffage is constantly
accompanied by that goddamn mischievous flute.

Then there are other unorthodox instruments on display, and while doing
their thing, the music sounds like some sort of nature-worshiping, tribal song
full of ethos and pathos and folklore, Siberian-style.

And just to add to the confusion, the groove-laden, amplifier-worshiping
distortion converges with some mighty deep growls and a gentle, female voice;
and once again, the hellish, elvish flute is flirting with everybody and
everything - and the party is in full gear.

Imagine Affliction's Prodigal Sun or Convulse's Reflections
joining forces with Jethro Tull, indivisible and proud, and there you have it:
a groovy, stylish, folk-ish and wickedly well done psychedelic doom/death for
the toughest stoners out there, rather than to the effeminate, happy, hippie
stoner heads. (7.5/10)

Albeit pedestrian, Orphans Of Dusk's Revenant EP may surprise those
who expect a totally rehashed doom/death gothic affair. While this mini album
is not devoid of that style, it does wander unto different realms of music, and
that's the problem: instead of adhering to one formula that works - like the
smoothly flowing Type-O-Negative-influenced dirges - the band try to be
uber-cool and go for the throat and deliver some lukewarm moments of classic
styled doom/death, incorporating growls and familiar riffs - and that's
something Orphans Of Dusk is quite poor at handling.

Still, the melodic passages and quite gripping instrumental parts, as well
as the ghostly-sounding, vintage Church-organ keyboard lines and the occasional
usage of vocals a-la Peter Steele, make the layman's doom/death on display
almost redeemable. That being said, the delivery is eventually uneven,
oscillating between brilliant moments of sheer charm (the less-metal-oriented
compositions) and moments of utter metallic redundancy.

Even though the songs are well crafted, the unevenness in quality and the
poor aesthetic choice of doom/death against a wall of aesthetic brilliance
portrayed by the gothic rock innuendos and the funereal, ancient-sounding
keyboards spawning some unearthly tunes - these make Revenant a somewhat
frustrating listening experience, as the listener would constantly wonder what
would have happened had the band focused on a single aesthetic it was good at
delivering, such as the gothic rock versus funereal and gorgeous ambiances
drenching in mystery and nocturnal beauty. Beautiful music does not need
"spicing up," or being muscled up by injecting it with faux-masculinity in
the form of slowed down death metal of sorts. (6.5/10)

Released at the end of 2014 by the unrelenting Finnish record label Inverse
Records, Chakras is not only a blend of aesthetics and styles - ranging
from hippy rock 'n' roll, psychedelia, stoner rock/metal, traditional doom and
death metal; it is also a mishmash of sentiments and qualities, showcasing a
roller coaster of songwriting approaches, some of which are cool and
captivating while others are pretty dull and bland.

It's not that the music itself isn't good, but rather the choice of tunes
that occasionally leaves the listener indifferent, having less than the
desirable impact expected from a band with such a talent. Chakras is an
album containing many "almosts": almost good, almost stirring, almost engaging,
almost overwhelming - almost this and almost that.

Spiralism is a quartet of Finnish musicians who strive to sound somewhere
between Reflections era Convulse and Prodigal Sun era Afflicted, with
instrumental post-rock vastness thrown into the mix. There's a constant
oscillation between the badass moments and the "what-do-they-want-from-us?"
segments, with some spacey keyboards and clean vocals versus guttural belches.

Bass-driven and tribal, the music indeed flows effortlessly from the benign
to the intimidating, but at all times the general feel is that of a laid-back,
sun-drenched, drug-induced, carefree environment that is most suitable as a
background for a dope-smoking, alcohol-drinking party than to anything dark or
sinister. We like our music dark and sinister, so in that context nothing here
manages to impress us to our bones, albeit the fact the music in itself isn't
half-bad.

Given the right setting and the right mind-altering substances (and enough
alcohol), Spiralism's Chakras could be the best soundtrack around. In
case you're looking for some truly menacing music emanating genuinely dark
energies - seek elsewhere. (6.9/10)

The Finnish label Inverse Records is sometimes over-enthusiastic. Otherwise,
we don't know what this shit is all about. We don't necessarily refer to the
style of music that does not appeal to us (not now, not in a million years),
but it seems every aspect of this miserable album is half-baked. From the
vocals (half-metalcore and half mellow nu metal soft singing) to the music (can
you be more cliche?!) - this recording seems powerless and weak, on every
level.

Misogynistic lyrics and mock-harsh vocals try to conceal the band's lack of
genuine musical material, and the fact it's all delivered with virtually zero
dynamics and energy makes this charade much worse. Lightweight and
insignificant, this metalcore/nu-metal bullshit of an album has got nothing to
write home about. Avoid. (1/10)

Wrath Monolith is one pretentious album title, don't you think? Think
of the expectations, delivering such a promise of being the epitome of wrath, a
colossal monument of/to anger. Did Doomed deliver this time, like before? Did
it meet the expectations? This time it's not that simple, literally.

Pierre Laube, Doomed's mastermind, has tried to be a tad more progressive
and "advanced," refusing to stick to his familiar style and sound. The lead
guitar, for instance, makes a longer appearance and is more pronounced, and so
are the songs themselves: a myriad of aesthetics, some debuting on this album,
arrangements and rhythms and structures and soundscapes, that were introduced
for the first time on a Doomed album, an eclectic barrage of dark energies.

This new Doomed album is not something that hasn't been done before (by
Abstract Spirit, for instance). There's a whole bunch of Russian and
former-Soviet Union bands that play the same exact type of
cavernous-yet-melodic doom metal. But Wrath Monolith is different: it's
experimental, but not to the point of winning over the heaviness factor.

The album also introduces, for the first time, long progressive metal leads
that, among other things, lend the album its progressive flair. But Make no
mistake! This is after all a Doomed album, in all its glory and might.
Absolutely dark and hungry, a hunter of lost souls, these tunes want to devour
whatever is in their path, like a starving Leviathan.

Some odd, unorthodox choices were made when recording this album. However,
they all, eventually, add up well. The vocals are done by at least three dudes,
Laube included. The leads are exceptionally long and occasionally sound as if a
full-blown progressive/art/avant-garde rock band is playing these tunes.

The songs are accessible, some are gorgeously beautiful and some lavishly
ominous, and the whole set is melodic in essence. The melody goes hand in hand
with the emotional burden and the somber atmosphere that is invested in and
radiates from this unique, cold, cruel yet captivating album.

Mr. Pierre Laube has outdone himself. Thinking outside of the box of his own
unique style of doom - a style he has so religiously kept intact on previous
recordings and has now been transformed. While unraveling and reassembled as a
new-ish entity, Doomed have both matured (in the doom metal sense of the word)
and progressed. Borrowing from here and borrowing from there (but not once
copycatting), blending and mixing something that sounds cold yet not lifeless,
melodic yet crushingly heavy, Wrath Monolith holds uplifting melodic
leads against a wall of madness and grime. You could hear the mechanical black
heart of French industrial doom band P.H.O.B.O.S. pulsating here, as well as
the '70s-inspired progressive and endless rock/metal leads of Opeth - all paths
converge eventually and crash against Doomed's own trademark sound: a sound of
a thousand dying humans who voice, synchronously, their final, death yell,
before eternity takes command.

So is this album indeed a monolith of wrath? The fact is it is neither
monolithic, as it is the most eclectic of the Doomed lot, nor it is
particularly wrathful. It is dark however; inherently sinister and unsettling,
in the sense its compositions are psychologically disturbing, like a
recollection of a very bad dream you've recently had, that felt so realistic,
you had awoken all shaken up, covered in cold sweat. Doomed's reign of mental
terror continues right on this slab of blackness.

We like this album a lot! In a nutshell, it's inspired black metal; an album
full with ingenious riffs and "feel" galore. Typically, black metal is served
either raw OR atmospheric, as the latter usually benefits from a shinier
production than the former; and yet this album is raw AND atmospheric at the
same time, using no additives. Utilizing just a couple of guitars, bass,
vocals, a drum machine, and no keyboards, to create something as
ambiance-inducing as this album is not something to take for granted.

Though hailing from Finland, Kanto Arboretun's type of black metal could
have been recorded anywhere in the world. It is a borderless, cosmopolitan,
dark rock 'n' roll, full of venom and angst. It's slightly less primordial than
Dark Throne's music, perhaps more melodic in essence, and the delivery
oscillates between the semi-progressive and the utterly primitive. The
production is an updated version of the early second-wave-of-black-metal sound,
a post-modern revivalism of that "ancient" sound, if you will; thorny yet
smooth, almost mock-primitive.

The riffs are engaging and captivating. Their first, false impression is of
being only grey or black and white, but as soon as the ears get accustomed to
the grittiness of the production, all those colorful hooks and wonderful
melodies start to emerge, and they never stop. After the initial familiarity of
this typical black metal sound settles down, one will realize this is a unique
recording, having a personal signature written all over its 36 majestic
minutes. The music flows effortlessly here, in the form of grey and grainy
waves of dark ambiance and sinister soundscapes; all elements converge and
intertwine virtually seamlessly, spawning this excellent, wintery, dystopian
album.

The Prosperous Post-Apocalyptic World is an excellent recording
needing only a fine adjustment in the drum machine department. We simply cannot
wait to listen to whatever else awaiting us within the minds of the musicians
behind this intriguing, well accomplished entity. (8.5/10)

Heavy Lullabies is missing the target by a mile, in terms of how
befitting the album title is in relation to the music, as it is neither heavy
nor lullabies-centric. Heavy Lullabies is a watered down, classic (i.e.
cliché ridden) hard rock that flirts with heavy metal. Mostly, however,
it indulges in heavy petting the abominable "alternative" rock genre.
But can you take a minus and a minus and make it a plus? That is, can you take
lackluster hard rock, couple it with alternative rock and hope the outcome
would become even mildly appealing?

This album does not totally suck (but for the most part, it does), as there
are some merits to be found here as well: the shoegaze occasional allusion, the
brief, badass heavy metal aversions, and the ballads which glare with nostalgia
and erotica.

But these are only fleeting glimpses into what could have been, had the band
went one direction instead of the other. Why the hell does an aspiring,
half-decent, heavy metal band need to incorporate the lame weakling known as
"alternative rock" into their music? This foreign element is a party crusher,
if there ever was one.

So whenever a cool melody has been established - one you really like and
enjoy listening to - Oasis suddenly appears right in front of your face,
mocking whatever hope you had for good entertainment.

They say life's too short to be spending it on bad books, bad movies and bad
music. If one could separate the great from the limp and listen only to the best
parts of Heavy Lullabies - this album would have been a journey of joy
and wonder. But since the good is inseparable from the bullshit, we cannot
wholeheartedly recommend it. Life's too short.(5/10)

No, don't judge it by the title. This is not a Pagan album. Not even a
neo-Pagan, let alone New Age. Disregard the skeleton and the goat on the cover
as well unless you can accept them as a "metal" thing, nothing more
than that. You don't get the old ways here.

What you get, though, is groove. Plenty of it. Blues on testosterone,
Pantera in shrapnels, metal in sound, rock in attitude. That kind of a thing,
if you want it.

Apart of an occasional scream, the vocals are - well, angry. What else?
Angry shouts with apparently conscious lyrics about... something. Modern stuff.
Drama queens and kings probably - we didn't quite get the lyrics.

The songs are fairly elaborated and stand apart from each other. There is
plenty of energy here, and instant satisfaction is guaranteed. Not as much made
for headphones, listening at home or any other form of serious listening, but,
we guess Stoneghost's recent release would make a good background for a party
or some random activity, such as physical exercise. If the songs were more memorable,
maybe for even more, but, as it is, Stoneghost are just a quick fix of energy. (6/10)

Many years ago our ex-editor reviewed a Joe Satriani CD and concluded that
guitar solos alone, where the rest of the band sounds as a generic backup, are
boring. A few years later, I made a similar point about an Annihilator album.
Simply put, albums where the guitar - or any other instrument - does
everything, and the other instruments sound like a simple program, are boring!
Even the best guitar solo can be made better if the bass, keyboard, or drum
player participate and give it a background boost.

Enter Neal Schon - the man famous for playing in Journey - and Vortex,
his new double album. The guitar is superb. Solos, compositions, moods, 18
songs in total, all tasteful, all elaborated and carefully laid into place. The
man knows what he is doing.

The drummer, however, doesn't. And no, it's not a generic simplistic
drummer. We wish it was. Yes, we actually said that. We wish this was a
programmed, generic machine instead, but programmed by a metal guy. This one,
although not a machine, is a jazz drummer of the pretentious kind - sort of
"just play and sound like you know what you're doing, make it sound fancy
and expensive, and sometimes try to pay attention to the song". Maybe it's
not that bad and we are too harsh, but maybe it actually is. It all sounds the
same. No dynamics, no quiet parts. The guy constantly has to show off with how
many cymbals he can hit, even though the composition isn't asking for it. Also,
it sounds like he's using every possible excuse not to play two bass drums, a
galloping rhythm or just a simple straightforward beat sometimes. It's all the
same. Boring jazz, and this is not even a jazz album! Man, I don't know who you
are, and I'm not going to look it up [Ed note: it's Steve Smith, also a Journey
alumnus], but, please, listen to some power metal before you ruin another
record with this crap. You see what you did? You made us write about the drums ten
times more than about the guitars, in a review of a famous guitarist's solo
album. And we didn't even get to mention the keyboards or the bass. That's just
wrong. With better drums Vortex would be a solid 8 or 9, but, as it is,
it's a... (4.5/10)

When Sulphur and Fire starts, for a few minutes you will think that
someone in Greece made a better Immortal album than Immortal did on All
Shall Fall (which isn't a hard thing to do, though). When it ends, you will
be thankful to Archemoron for reminding you that black metal is still the best
kind of music there is. Darkness, pride, class, attitude, dignity, playful
coldness, imagination, skillful solos, real riffs, commanding vocals, stop-go
parts, blasting parts, old stuff, new stuff; Archemoron is on fire here.

Perfect, powerful sound, long instrumental sections, moments of wonder, moments
of glory, moments of destruction, moments of desolation and emotion; you have
heard some of these before, but not like they're done here. And those you have
not heard, and you will absorb them as if they were the most natural thing.

Even if, some pieces sound like they were randomly stitched together, and
some songs aren't quite finished, it doesn't matter. No one could finish an
album like this without limiting its longevity and staying power. Therefore,
it's not perfect, but you are allowed to love Sulphur and Fire even with
its flaws, because the next best thing is still underneath it. (8.2/10)

A sound of a band dying? Since Whelm have split up, this - its only album - might
just be the sound of a band giving up.

This is nothing special, we agree, plenty of them (are no longer) around,
but in Whelm's case, we can see the reason why. They didn't have much fun. And,
yes, doom and sludge aren't supposed to be fun anyway, but you can vividly
imagine Whelm stops trying to make sense, and, worse, there is the feeling that
it could have done much more.

A Gaze Blank and Pitiless as the Sun is all atmosphere, strong and
desperate one. But conveyed through music like this, it is a vague description
of an atmosphere rather than an elaborate painting. To cut down the abstraction
- it is mostly down-tempo chugging, with a bored drummer and too much vocals.
The sound is correct. The lyrics are correct too. The first few songs are full
of wailing, mournful guitar leads, but they disappear towards the end. So do the
ideas, but Whelm kept going nonetheless. And the result is - a lot of the same.

If the album was half as long and played twice, the result would still be
the same - correct atmosphere and not much else to talk about. And on that
note, this review will do the same as the band - stop. (5.5/10)

Have you ever heard one of those bands whose music creates a universe? Have
you ever listened to music that is a cathedral of tears and pain? a flood of
grey matter and never-ending gloomy days? Well, Whelm's A Gaze Blank and
Pitiless as the Sun - originally released in 2013 and reissued by Aesthetic
Death in 2015 - is one of those miserable mishaps who just make your day far
worse than it's already been.

This slow, creeping death metal is layered with various vocal approaches and
post-metal flirtations, sometimes in the background and sometimes in the
foreground, as a sort of a musical hide-and-seek game. It is a cryptic, macabre
show written and played flawlessly by a band which no longer exists - a fact we
all should mourn. This album is Whelm's short-lived legacy - its glorious
zenith of creation as well as its swansong.

The death metal on display is as simple as it is addictive. It is as
appealing as it is alienating. This album is not about being technical or
versatile or progressive; this album is about making you as uncomfortable as possible.
It's a testament to the magical ability of music to steer and shake you to your
very core, and when on your knees, you beg for some more of that sweet, sweet
punishment.

It all boils down to sounding industrial and cold without incorporating even
a single distinctive element of the so-called "industrial sound." The very bleakness and gigantic proportions of the
music, its heartlessness and gut wrenching brutality of both sound and emotion -
these allow this album to sound mechanical, cold and indifferent to the pain of
the world.

A Gaze Blank and Pitiless as the Sun is a haunting endeavor, an epic
horror show. It's one of those insane death metal albums which own a truly
lunatic vibe, either created by the vocals, the atmosphere or the music; and in
Whelm's case, it's all three factors combined. From the rotten-sounding vocals
to the perfectly light-less melodies, to the unfathomable weight of the tunes
to the emotional burden they create this album is a cruel, sonic black hole
from which no light escapes.

So whether you like Mindrot's Forlorn (a timeless album in its own
right) or a combination of Neurosis, Asphyx and Gorefest (blood, sweat and
tears - the holy trinity of this music), caught up in a knife fight while
loaded up on hallucinogenics, or just love your death metal awesome, then this
life changing album is all you'll ever need.

Aesthetic Death has once again unearthed a forgotten musical gem that
otherwise would have been remained buried in the great mass grave of obscurity
and anonymity (which would have deprived us of the pleasure of enjoying one of
the greatest albums ever recorded in recent times); and the label receives kudos
from us, for proudly making another commercial suicide by releasing this
nocturnal recording in the most professional manner possible; fools are those
who will miss the opportunity of listening to this excellent and rare recording
which is only a click of a button away,
and then go grab your copy! (9.99/10)

Undoubtedly inspired by '80s pop metal (we don't like the term Hair metal,
but it might make things clearer to some readers...), Sign Of Heart is a
bit anachronistic. Ten songs, mostly centered about love or lost love, attempting
to sound big (think glam), relying on engaging guitars and fancy keyboards.

Still, it works. The songs are quite effective, and although some of the
overdriven guitar rhythms are too basic, there is some accomplished playing to
be found (check out the keyboards-guitar teaming and arrangement on "The
Touch Of Your Hand," for example).

Alas, Sign Of Heart fails in living up to the high production standard
of the genre. This can definitely be attributed to the popularity of pop metal
in the '80s, which secured big labels' interest and funding back in the day;
and the relatively limited attraction of the genre today. And while some might
appreciate the slightly rough takes here, we believe that there was a room for
further refinement.

Another drawback is the lead vocals spot being populated by various singers
- almost every song is sung by another singer. They are not bad, but it makes
Wake The Nations sound a bit generic, as opposed to being identified with a
specific voice. This can be easily amended, and we recommend that it would,
should the band ever approach a followup. (6/10)

The new Sonar album unfolds slowly as the nine minute "Enneagram"
builds up. There is a dark vibe to the music, sounding like a restrained hybrid
of Tool and King Crimson (a possible contribution of David Bottrill who was
responsible for the mix, and who produced such modern classics as Tool's 2001 Lateralus
and King Crimson's 1995 Thrak, to name a few).

But vibe aside, this instrumental music does not peak. It continues to float
ashore instead of sweeping you into the sea.

Furthermore, the semi-repetitive / quasistatic nature of the music (which we
described in our review of the band's 2014 release Static Motion) is still not as
hypnotic nor as engaging as we think it should be, and yet we do feel that this
Switzerland based band has matured towards accomplishing this in the future.

Still, Black Light maintains aural appeal, as the music is spacious
and inviting as opposed to the aforementioned influences that can get quite
overbearing; and the dedication of the quartet to its vision is admirable, as
is their willingness to elaborate it with fresh tones ("Angualar
Momentum," for example, holds hints of Mediterranean music; and
"String Geometry" eventually hooks them with another, perhaps even
more obvious crossbread of Tool and King Crimson). (7/10)

This debut EP by the Israeli band Scardust (originally named Somnia, but
forced to change name) got us overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the band's impressive
technical chops, overwhelmed by the versatile performance and especially
overwhelmed by the incredible, prominent female vocals, ranging from operatic
singing through natural singing to growling, bestial rants.

If you like modern metal, you really owe yourself to listen to the opening
"Tantibus." The operatic vocals are proficiently and naturally
blended into more visceral singing, and when Noa Gruman sings "hearing a
melody trying to comfort me" for the first time - it's one of the most
heavenly vocal takes you'll ever hear. This song is storming and immediate,
melodic yet powerful, and has Symphony X written all over it. We do, however,
feel that it ends a bit too soon, and a closing instrumental section could have
come in handy.

Then, there are the three parts of the EP's central piece
"Shards". The first part starts with a somewhat melodramatic vocal
section that could have been lifted from a musical show, but soon the
symphonic, progressive metal is restored. There are a few too many
staccato-like breaks/outbreaks that fracture the melodies and introduce a
typical progressive metal edge - sounding a bit mechanical and unimaginative;
it would have been advisable to cut down on these technical showcases. The
vocals are a bit too excessive as well, but they have Yemenite twists and curls
weaved into them, making the singing attractive and exotic despite its over the
top leanings.

The second part ("Shadow") has a glorious folk metal feel into it,
reminding us of Wuthering Heights, and Part III features a disillusioned climax
that is quite effective yet a bit messed up.

So, yes - we are overwhelmed; but we are overwhelmed mostly because Scardust
chose to overwhelm us. It might be a good tactic for a first release, in order
to grab listeners and labels' deserved attention, but for a longer, lasting
mark we suggest that the band teams up with a good producer who will be able to
balance the excessiveness in favor of the songs. Scardust is a rough diamond
and with a proper polishing it can turn into a leading force in the global metal
scene. (8/10)

Static, the new Huntress album is a showy, compressed album,
served with a digitized sound. Heavy metal cliches are treated with blunt force
and no creativity.

We are willing to admit that at times we can actually enjoy the first two
songs ("Sorrow" and "Flesh"), but then it all continues in
a similar, formulaic form.

There's a lot of plain, rhythmic bashing, with almost no melodic lines to
support it. Some hints of thrash emerge every now and then (for example, on
"Four Blood Moons"), perhaps as an excuse to the unrefined playing;
but the beautifying production leaves no place to consider these as honestly
emergent uproars.

The "icing on the cake" is vocalist Jill Janus (perhaps because
she IS the face of the songs, almost solely responsible for their melodic
characters). Janus is quite limited in her presentation - relying on singing
that borders on shouting as the nominal state (hardly a notable use for an
alleged four octave vocal range), she fails to depict any true emotion (well,
apart from teenage rage). Add the echoes of a digital treatment feathering her
vocals on record and you can instantly feel just how fake Huntress' music comes
off. It's like heavy metal pop for the masses - superficial on constant peak
levels. (3/10)

This new live release - a DVD+2CD combo - by the supergroup Flying Colors
lives up to the expectation. It is a crystal clear, crisp, professional
recording that captures the synergic band in top shape, delivering songs from
the two albums it has released so far with fitting energy and passion. This
excellent group of musicians seems to thrive on genuine mutual respect, which
allows for the talents to shine through in support of the songs, and that is a
pleasure to watch and to listen to.

The added value of the live performance is pronounced clearer on the DVD
version. It is not only due to the visuals - which certainly help in placing
you inside the concert setting (the DVD also has two different surround mixes,
to simulate different locations within the venue); but also in some interaction
with the audience, which was edited out of the audio CDs (probably in support
of a more fluent listening experience). The most notable of this is the live
take of "Forever In A Daze" (which features an extended, funky bass
solo by Dave Larue) being followed by a spontaneous interaction with the
audience that results in the band playing a section again after the song had
finished.

While most of the songs receive an adrenaline boost (Mike Portnoy certainly
fuels the occurrences with his over the top drum assault), "One Love Forever"
is strangely less bombastic compared to the original studio take, and while it
might initially seem anemic, it has its charm.

Another highlight is "Mask Machine," as its live presentation
features some dedicated instrumentation that makes it distinguishable from its
studio counterpart. (9/10)

This album by Britain's prog metallers Prospekt is one of the best prog
metal efforts released in this decade so far (if not the best of them).

The music here is sweeping with force. While it does not break any new
ground it effectively holds the crucial elements of progressive metal:
technically proficient and tight performance of elaborated songs.

The vocals might be a bit thin with regards to their range, and yet singer (and
keyboard player) Richard Marshall remains purposeful throughout. His focused
performance is crucial and unique as he conveys the emotional aspects of the
music better than most of his contemporaries.

A passionate and impressive tour de force, The Colourless Sunrise is
an album deserved to be heard by every progressive metal fan. (9.5/10)

Like label mates Sonar, Schnellertollermeier is a bass-guitar-drums outfit
(whereas Sonar consists of two guitarists, here there is only one), and its
music is similarly of a repetitive, minimal nature. In fact, it's quite
interesting to note that both bands are Swiss, and so is Nik Bärtsch's
Ronin - the outfit which quite possibly started the zen-funk trend.

But Schnellertollermeier's music is arguably more accomplished than Sonar's.
It appeal to us might be due to the more violent nature that these guys employ,
and the performance that does not afraid to be rough (and less sterile) -
that's probably the most prominent feature they picked from their jazz
influences. Sonar might have utilized a darker sound on its latest release (also
reviewed in this issue), but Schnellertollermeier's music itself is more
menacing: it does not only set to explode, it explodes! and then it explodes
again, and then you realize you're in string of explosions, with the band going
from strength to strength.

We tried to analyze what makes this one better than its contemporaries, and
came to realize to it is the rhythmic reliance and focus of the pieces that
makes the difference. On X the music constantly delivers a chugging
vibe, and while it does have its melodic tidbits - these are woven into the
rhythmic fabric. It's a mindfucking experience. (9/10)

This package includes an album by the Italian based ensemble NichelOdeon/InSonar
(on CD) and a short, experimental film by Francesco Paolo Paladino to which the
ensemble contributed music (on DVD).

We don't know Italian, but still we found the album Ukiyoe (Mondi
Fluttuanti) - which relies heavily on vocals - luring. It is not an easy
work by any means! It is a work to absorb with dedication. Some of the
dedication might involve following the lyrics translation to English, which
appears in the accompanying booklet, and revealing its dark, deranged nature.

The captains of the ship which goes by the name of NichlOdeon/InSonar are
vocalist Claudio Milano (who has a 7 octave vocal range) and sound designer
Paolo Siconolfi. But, in fact, this is a huge ensemble consisted of strings,
horns, electronic and electric instruments players.

The myriad of instruments is apparent on the dramatic "Flower/Son of
Water" which follows the opening choral piece ("Venom"). An
electronic/piano trail leads, as an harmonium soon sets the stage for the
baritone tones of the wind instruments and for the rustling assortment of
percussions. The vocals here are painfully breathtaking.

"Sailor," which follows, relies on a rather primitive rhythm to
suck you in, at first. Then, strokes of a multitude of mostly acoustic
instruments weave a sweeping scenery. This song is performed in multiple
voices, reinforcing a sensation not only of estrangement and ache but also of
conflict (which is also well portrayed by the lyrics) and the latter prevails
throughout the album.

The short "Oh Mother! Inside The Sea You Hold" continues the
percussive engagement, only this time the rhythm is quite intense and
pronounced to a great effect by the vocals. It ends with an impressive, mighty
and slightly avant garde utilization of Milano's voice as a terrifying
instrument that teams up with scorching horns; making way for the malevolent
"The Fish of your Rivers."

"Sea/Evil," the album's final piece is the album's longest piece
(over 19 minutes in length, split into three distinctive sections).
Surprisingly it is also the piece with the fewest words, and these have a
mantra-like effect to the semi drone-like music of its first section
("Tsunami!"). The second section ("Into The Waves") offers
a more classical music inspired movement, featuring moody accordion playing, and
turning avant garde as Milano's wordless vocals join bravely; while the third
section ("Mud") continues to build up from noises and musical
fragments.

And if "Sea/Evil" was about being at sea, then the accompanying
movie depicts "Four people (who) find themselves in need to dock at an
island due to problematic navigational conditions."

The 25 minute film by Francesco Paolo Paladino is a somewhat suggestive
affair. The shots were taken using a fixed, static camera, and the result is
that some of the occurrences happen outside the frame (to the point when the
frame is left void). The music, by NichelOdeon/InSonar is embedded into the
motion picture, as well as provides an interesting backdrop.

Demanding but at least as equally rewarding, this set (and especially its
audio portion) is highly recommended for those who seek. (9/10)

If you enjoy Danzig's occult rock but always wished it to be ballsier and
darker, then Albez Duz's The Coming Of Mictlan is your definite answer
for that desire. This German three-piece's occult doom rock is the best of all
worlds: the heavy metal enmeshed with Gothic rock displayed on The Coming of
Mictlan is certainly something to write home about.

Feverish and dark narrative lines, some classic heavy metal leads and a
harrowing atmosphere that envelopes everything in a shroud of mystery and 1970s
occult rock vibe, aided by some church organs and a sensually-sounding vocalist,
the songs are both engaging and airtight, charged with the power to drown the
listener under waves of erotic/Satanic, ritual sentiments.

The compositions are beautiful yet caustic, and the atmosphere is devouring.
Even the ballad-like tracks, such as the fifth track "Drowned," own
that sinister, heartbreaking quality to them, like a marriage between Swans,
Death In June and A Different Kind of Slumber-era Tiamat.

The Coming Of Mictlan is an anthology of macabre, nocturnal lullabies
with a strong narrative essence; a brilliant, highly enjoyable and elegant
piece of doom, gloom and rituals; an album that's good enough for love-making,
wrist-cutting or for transcending beyond the here and now. Isn't that what
music is all about? a vehicle for transcendence? (8/10)

These Swedes may present themselves as a black/death metal outfit, but don't
believe them. They are nothing of that sort. They may seem like a death metal
band, but their music's lifeblood is tainted by deathcore, which is a horrible
way to ruin what otherwise could have been s decent album, simply because
deathcore, in itself, is a horrible, horrible sub-style of metal (now, is it
really a sub-style of metal?). Whoever gets tainted with this bullshit style,
is risking a colossal disaster, music-wise, because deathcore is like a drop of
shit: contaminate a whole barrel of honey with one drop of this shit, and the
whole barrel of honey is rendered uneatable.

This is exactly what could happen to any band that amuses itself with the
idea of deathcore, falling flat on their noses when they incorporate that
garbage into a style such as death metal, a style of metal that couldn't be
more foreign to the notion of deathcore (or metalcore for that matter), which
has nothing to do with either metal or hardcore, in essence.

This album is a sheep in wolf's clothes; a metallic tinfoil enveloping a
pumping heart of inconsequential deathcore, which is one of the least
successful hybrids the world of hard and heavy music has spawned upon those who
try to distance themselves from the devouring pop culture, most of the time
futilely so.

So yeah, Vholdghast try very hard to sound tough and abrasive,
Swedish-quasi-melodic-death-metal-style, and here and there they succeed in
being just that (like on the opening track for instance), but somehow they manage
to fuck it all up with those goddamned metalcore innuendos that kill the
dynamics and the heaviness for the sake of being "progressive" or
"modern" or whatever...

The vocals are commendable yet not particularly unique; the riffs potent,
true-and-tried yet not exclusively spectacular. The production, however, is
extremely sharp and poignant, injecting the songs with an end-of-days aura, and
in turn the latter emanates a sentiment of deconstruction and tragedy. In those
truly captivating moments (which are not in abundance, mind you), listening to
this recording is like being a spectator to the process of the world coming
undone in front of your very eyes.

If you happen to like the quasi-melodic Swedish style a-la At The Gates' Slaughter
Of The Soul (but think the aforementioned album is the mother-ship of
everything that's wrong with extreme metal), Vholdghast's Lat Oss Forbrinna
could be a reasonable alternative; not the be-all and end-all edifice of
excellence due to the above mentioned reasons, but something that might quench
your thirst for some good old sonic violence, Swedish-style: a gentle cataclysm
flaked with some bullshit and some good stuff as well.

For the effort, this one deserves a 7 out of 10 rank, which is more than
what we intended to score that album with in the first place, but listening to
the album in its entirety, it contains some redeemable factors (the songwriting,
the interchangeable vocals, the wise usage of keyboards, the scorching guitar
sound) that render it as decent, at least. (7/10)

Ah, that's lovely! An instrumental rock band with a very vintage sound,
playing very cool, highly energetic, cinematic music that could fit as
soundtrack to either high-tension thrillers, Hitchcock-ian dark celluloid tales
or Gothic horror films. Imaginative, progressive, intricate and atmospheric,
Present's progressive art rock brings forth tales from the dark side. It's
somber and at times tumultuous and incessant, like a very bright, yet morbid,
ADHD-inflicted child.

Triskaidekaphobie, originally released in 1980, is a dramatic and
sinister album, taking its influence from the unheralded Zeuhl movement (bands
such as Magma and Shub-Niggurath) and from bands like Univers Zero (or the
other way around, since both entities co-existed in the same timeframe and
shared at least one member between them) - that is to say this avant-garde rock
is anything but the habitual type.

There's nothing habitual in having the piano play the lead role and having
it sound like the motherfucking end of the world. Sure, some bass and electric
guitars are there, but in all truth, it's the unusual duet between the
keyboards and the percussion section that sparks some dark, surrealistic magic
that's hard to describe.

Triskaidekaphobie is like walking through wonderland, only that one
is dark and twisted, hosting a freak-show of the highest level of grotesquerie,
like something that has been dormant in the dark corners of the room for eons,
becoming stale and lifeless, suddenly being resuscitated into life and
attacking you from all sides with its venomous and sickening stench.

This album could be annoying at times, with all of its endless repetitions
and relentlessness; but every moment is magical nonetheless. Erratic, dark and
twisted (literally), this album is a roller-coaster through a myriad of colors,
all dark: absurd, surreal and reaching deep down, this music is capable of
shaking us to our very core, enlivening our fears.

They say there are no real magicians in the world and that there's not such
a thing as real magic. After listening to Present's Triskaidekaphobie,
you WILL become a believer in magic! (9/10)

The Other Shore is the second album by the one-man-band Broken Down (the artist's true identity is undisclosed). The band's declared musical direction is an experimental mix of industrial rock/metal with punk and pop music, and while we did not find it experimental (at least in the adventurous sense; technically, the music is indeed an experiment of blending beats, brief guitar riffage and electronic sounds) the rest is quite correct.

There is a good vibe to the music here, and it is one that we believe industrial metal fans might enjoy some of it. The title track, for example, will appeal to those who like White Zombie.

Broken Down's most prominent weakness is in the vocals department. The vocals fail to deliver any raw power, nor do they deliver any real beauty (and there is certainly an attempt to deliver these, as can be heard on "Scribble Your World" or "Mr SUN"). Efforts such as the punk/rap of "Alienated Music" could have actually worked, with its alternative metal rhythms and its authentic, in-your-face attitude, had only the vocals been more effective. (5/10)

If A Slow, Painful Life catches you unprepared you'll be excused if you find yourself surprised and wondering if it's music at all or some random, scary noise about to go on forever.

It's not hard to get confused by the opening of the first real track (after a small intro), but, once it settles, it's not too much of a musical surprise. In essence, it's pretty much one riff, steady, doomy, pounding drums and a horror of screams and underlying basement ghostly deep voices trying to sing... something; whatever the dead are singing while decomposing, whatever your nightmares sing when they are feasting on your flesh or whatever other nasty thing you can think of.

The next track continues with heavy guitar, and this is actually heavy. Not "it's mid tempo thrash but we'll call it heavy 'cos it's what they call it" but an actual heavy, doomy, ominous guitar. Well done. So there's a heavy guitar, then; and the basement echoes continue, the screams get more ritualistic and there's another guitar playing an overlay. Nothing too complicated, nothing new at all, nothing progressive, nothing that most people couldn't do, but - and this is the whole point - it's something you have to hear. And this, dearly beheaded readers, is what the underground is about!

Lunarsapian doesn't care about impressing you, yet they do it with minimal effort and maximum attitude. To complete A Slow, Painful Life there is a piano interlude over rain and someone holding a speech, a faster but equally threatening song, a 15-minute epic that seems like it ended too soon and a closing song which somehow sounds even heavier than what any preconceptions you might have about heaviness; even though Lunarsapian plays blackened doom, the thing you will remember about them will be the heaviness. Heaviness of the deadly kind. (8/10)

Section 37 may be Aesthetic Death Records' most non-metallic and experimental signing to date.

Some trivia first: the name of the band refers to section 37 of the mental health act (in the British law codex, we guess), which deals with the forced institutionalization of the criminally insane. It only makes sense, since Section 37, the band, are thematically obsessed with serial killers, sociopaths and everything in between.

A less dance-able VNV Nation (and much less straightforward, linear or monolithic), if you like unconventional electronic music, you will definitely dig at least SOME parts of Section 37's Legion, because some parts are downright awesome, whereas some parts vary between the standard and the lame.

Eclectic in essence, mixing sheer electronica and industrial, spoken citations that correspond with rap, an abundance of samples and studio gimmickry and cold atmosphere, the "style" of this particular album can be described as being a "Non-Style," where anything and everything was thrown into the mix and experimented with. Think of a much liquid form of Front Line Assembly's Millennium, for instance (with a much reduced metallic sensibility).

Lovers of the darker edges of electronic music, particularly those into Anne Clark, Test Dept., Wumpscut, Frontline Assembly, Skinny Puppy and such, who like their electronica varied, dark, depraved yet not too aggressive (well, perhaps not aggressive at all...), this cinematic oddity of the left-field realms of Electronica should satisfy you.

Legion is an intelligent excursion through the minds of inspired musicians obsessed with serial killers and all things wretched and vile - and those very unhealthy sentiments occasionally (not always, mind you) emanate from the loudspeakers while Legion works its black, robotic magic. This recording is therefore more of an experience rather than music in its traditional sense, and due to its mind boggling eclectic nature, everyone could find their own special moment while listening.

"My Name Is LEGION, For We Are Many..." (6.5/10)

MAIDEN UNITEDOctober 31, 2015 - Levontin 7, Tel Aviv, Israel

review by: %%name=Avi Shaked%%

Maiden United - the acoustic, Iron Maiden tribute project - has released
three full length albums up to now. This shows dedication to the music as well
as to the band's concept. Still, Maiden United's reputation might not be as
high as one can expect, as the concert production of the band's scheduled
performance in Israel suffered from poor ticket sales, which forced the gig's
transition into a relatively small club. This transition, however, was
worthwhile for the hundred people that did attend.

The Tel Aviv based club Levontin 7 might not be the ideal place for gigs,
but it does consistently give stage to some of the most interesting and
rewarding live music played in Israel by both local and international artists.
In this particular case, the daily routine of hosting live music and the
comparatively intimate setting of the club's concert floor - basically a
basement with a stage and a bar - seems to have made the difference. That's not
to take away from Maiden United's performance at all, though. The club supplied
the right conditions, but it was the band that made the most out of them.

Frontman Damian Wilson (also of Threshold as well as on various Arjen
Anthony Lucassen productions) stood out: the man is a true showman; his
performance is staged without being exaggerated, and as such he managed to deliver
the drama as well as the entertainment of the Iron Maiden repertoire, and do it
better than he does on record (while our Gut Feeling
[https://www.facebook.com/GutFeelingMusic/photos/667677003281176/] regarding
the band's debut album was a bit harsh, we still believe it is an album that
does not live up to the potential; but the live setting does bring more out of
Wilson). Wilson knows how to work out the audience, and - making the most of
the intimate setting - even stepped off the stage to sing from within the ranks
of the audience (as well as to chat with the audience right before and after
the show, and share his brothel experience in support of performing the two
Maiden songs of the subject).

Furthermore, while we have never considered Wilson to be in the big league
of rock vocalists, his vocal delivery that night proved otherwise. He was
precise, yet flexible, and the natural beauty of his vocals was utilized
effortlessly (or at least that's how it seemed). Apparently, Wilson is well
aware of its slightly limited range (when compared with Russell Allen, for
example) but he sings comfortably and beautifully within that somewhat treble
range.

The set was purely acoustic (demonstrating another band-place synergy, as
the band took advantage of the house grand piano, instead of the typically used
keyboards), and featured a comprehensive selection of Iron Maiden material,
from early numbers such as "Remember Tomorrow" through classics like
"Aces High," "Children of the Damned," "The
Trooper," "The Evil That Men Do" to less celebrated songs like
"Futureal." It was a killer show, and one of the best metal related
shows we have ever witnessed, as it was more about the details and less about
the noise. If Maiden United comes anywhere near you and you're a Maiden fan -
you would not want to miss it!